Green-Eyed Ghoul
by DelayedInspiration
Summary: Sally Jackson is a Ghoul. Poseidon is a god. That makes their son one powerful SOB. Zeus' Master Bolt suddenly grows legs and walks off, and now a bunch of girls in silver are asking Anteiku where Perseus Jackson is...
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue: Origins_

 _ **In the words of Mongul from**_ _ **Justice League**_ _ **: The people have spoken!**_

 _ **Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the newest story in my growing arsenal,**_ _ **Green-Eyed Ghoul**_ _ **!**_

 _ **After re-watching seasons 1 and 2 of the anime, and reading about twenty different Wikipedia articles, I finally came up with a way to get this baby rolling, while at the same time adding my own variations and adjustments in order to fit with my own mythos regarding this new story.**_

 _ **That being said, I've decided to kick us off one year before**_ _ **Tokyo Ghoul**_ _ **'s canon, with Percy and Hinami being the same age.**_

 _ **Now, since this was the fan-favorite, and had the most votes, I would prefer that any reviews along the lines of 'you should've done this story,' or 'I wanted this story' to not be posted. I did this democratically, and I'm only doing what the majority of the people wanted. However, do not be alarmed, for the other two WILL be posted in the future.**_

 _ **Now, without further ado…**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ Tokyo Ghoul and its characters are property of Sui Ishida, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians are property of Rick Riordan

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Ghouls.

A race of humanoid predators capable of tearing apart humans like tissue paper. They are stronger than us, faster than us, more durable than us, and their senses are far superior to us. Ghouls use a variety of tactics and techniques to hunt and kill their only prey: human beings.

The way a Ghouls body works, prevents them from consuming any type of man-made dish that isn't made of man. Their digestive processes can only function on one type of sustenance that is found in human tissue: RC cells.

The origin of these special cells is unknown, however the first reported cases of these abnormal, fetus-like cells came in from the 1950s, after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This had led experts to believe that the RC cells are the result of mutations caused by nuclear radioactivity.

Of course, people were skeptical of the presences of these mutations…until the hunger set in, until the eyes began to change color, until the _claws_ started to emerge. Special organs were discovered in the bodies of those whose RC levels were 1000, and these organs were named 'kakuhou.'

Using their kakuhou, these new people could extend their RC cells beyond their bodies, forming unique weapons called 'kagune.' There are four types of kagunes, the Ukaku, Koukaku, Rinkaku, and Bikaku. The Ukaku takes the shape of wings, and can harden into a crystal-like weapon capable of launching projectile spikes; the Koukaku typically sprouts from the shoulder blades as a drill, a spear, and sometimes even an entire new arm; the Rinkaku kagune comes from the lower back, and comes in a variety of tentacle shapes; finally, the Bikaku emerges from just above your ass crack, and is always in the form of a tail-like appendage.

Each kagune has its strengths and weaknesses, and that is something that capitalized on.

When the Japanese government learned that these 'Ghouls' could only feed on the RC cell-rich flesh of the humans, they went to great lengths to not only completely cover this up, but to find a way to counter this new threat. Media was strictly governed, and tourists and visitors were _closely_ monitored. The answer to combatting these Ghouls came in the form of the Ghouls themselves.

The Japanese government founded an agency called the Commission of Counter Ghoul, an organization dedicated to destroying these predators. By killing a Ghoul, harvesting its kagune, and splicing it with a special steel found in Germany, the CCG was able to develop a new weapon: the Quinque. Using this weapon, Ghoul Investigators, the soldiers of the CCG, were able to slice through the hardened flesh of any Ghoul with practiced ease.

And so the two sides have been waging a cold war for decades. The humans and Ghouls locked in a silent, bloody conflict for survival. However, neither side was able to gain any real ground. The Ghouls learned quickly how to be uncatchable predators, and the humans learned quickly how to fight against their superior enemies.

Realizing the stalemate they were in, the government blocked off their major cities into multiple wards, in order to coral the Ghouls and keep better track of the predators. So far that method has worked, but by drawing lines on a map, certain Ghouls were able to rise to power, taking control of the wards, and forming gangs to fight for territory.

The CCG mostly stayed out of conflicts like that, letting the Ghouls kill each other off before swooping down and wiping out the survivors. Of course, a system had to be created in order to accurately classify Ghouls and the threat they posed. That system was called the Rating, and it ranked Ghouls on a scale of C all the way up to SSS.

Leaders of the Ghoul gangs were typically S-rated or higher, so there also had to be a class system for the Ghoul Investigators as well. Rank 3 was the lowest, then there was Rank 2, and Rank 1. After that, you became a Senior Investigator, with the ranking there being First Class, Associate Special Class, and the highest being Special Class. Only very few Investigators became Special Class, and only very few Ghouls were SSS-rated.

Despite the Japanese's best efforts, some Ghouls managed to slip past security, and enter the outside world, forming lives of their own. The governments of the other countries had to be informed of the threat in their borders, but it was done covertly and professionally, so that international panic wouldn't ensue. So, even with the 'outbreak,' Ghouls were still the world's most largely kept secret.

This is where our story begins. An American Ghoul returning to Japan in order to see his family, only to meet a beautiful young woman with glowing red eyes. These two would consummate their love for each other, and a daughter would be born unto them.

A daughter by the name of Sally Jackson.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sally was a Ghoul, like her parents, and had an Ukaku kagune. Her 'wings' took a shape similar to that of an orca's dorsal fin, with the interior color being white, with red veins sprouting from a red circle in the middle of her kagune, leading to a red outline that trembled like fire.

She lived a happy life her parents, the three of them able to make ends meet in more ways than one. Their Ghoul identities were kept a close secret, but it was a secret that was soon discovered. Sally had made the mistake of hunting an Investigator, and was not strong enough to defeat the pair of Ghoul hunters. Luckily, her parents arrived in time to save their daughter, but now their identity was known.

CCG soldiers broke down the door of their house days later, and Sally barely made it out alive, but her parents were not so lucky. The girl's perspective on life changed that day, and she fell into a mindset that most Ghouls had. That humans were always the enemy, no matter what.

Sally lived on the streets for years, learning, growing, hunting, eating, and fighting. She stole any clothes that she needed, killed whomever threatened her, and created an infamous reputation as the Death Angel, an S-rated Ghoul known for her white cloak, serene-faced mask, and white Ukaku kagune.

Sally became strong and jaded, and she eventually formed a Ghoul gang of her own in the 20th ward of Tokyo, Japan. Her gang was composed entirely of Ghouls with Ukaku kagunes, and they were feared for their coordination, flight abilities, and high-speed attacks.

The Death Angel ruled the 20th ward for over a year, until two new Ghouls rose to power, and formed gangs of their own. Kaya Irimi, aka Black Dog, leader of the Black Dobers, and Enji Koma, aka Devil Ape, leader of the Apes Ghoul gang.

The two gangs gained followers quickly, and challenged Sally's rule on a number of occasions, each time ending only with blood. Every encounter ended with Ghouls on both sides dying, and all three gangs losing member after member. Eventually, the Death Angel got fed up with her men being killed, and she issued a challenge to her rival gangs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Angels of Death, the Black Dobers, and the Apes had all gathered at an abandoned warehouse district, one gang occupying the roof of one building, the other two gangs occupying the roof of another.

The Angels of Death were all clad in white cloaks, with white masks designed to look like peaceful, serene faces, but the image was shattered by the glowing red lights that shined with hunger coming from the eyeholes.

The Black Dobers were dressed in black coats, jackets, shirts, hoodies, etc., and black pants. They all had the exact same masks in the design of a Doberman's snout, and their kakugans, the name of a Ghoul's eyes, were shining brightly in the night.

The Apes were dressed in a less matching manner, the only similar thing being the white jackets and the demonic, monkey-like masks. Other than that, they were a hodgepodge of different garments.

"This ends tonight," Sally said. "I've tolerated your pestilence for long enough."

Black Dog and Devil Ape didn't get to respond before Death Angel was zooming forward, grabbing both Ghouls by the throat, and flying off with a flap of her kagune. The Dobers and Apes that were too stunned to react were cut down by the hail of Ukaku spikes shot by the Angles of Death. The survivors scattered, and the three gangs engaged in all out turf-war.

Sally threw her opponents through the metal roof of one building, sending the Ghouls crashing into the concrete below, cracking it and sending up dust. The jaded woman dive-bombed through the roof, and the other two just barely managed to dodge.

Sally went after Kaya first, swinging her kagune like a pair of swords. The Black Dog was nimble, and avoided every slash and jab with grace. The Devil Ape bounded above, using his enhanced muscles to blur across the support pillars, before shooting downwards.

Sally leapt back, and brought her kagune forward as a shield, before throwing it forward launching her opponents backwards. She crystalized it, and sent a hail of spikes at the Ghouls. They were able to dodge nimbly, but the Death Angel had experience in dealing with fast people, and was able to shoot them both down.

Sally approached the downed forms of the Black Dog and the Devil Ape, her wings crystalized and poised to strike down. The two had spikes piercing places among their bodies, and their kakugans were no longer shining.

"You two put up a good fight for these past few months, but you don't fuck with the Death Angel and live, bastards," Sally said vindictively. She raised her kagune higher, and that was her mistake. Twin pairs of red eyes snapped open, and Sally was too slow to react to the double-fisted punch to her gut that sent her speeding across the warehouse, through the concrete wall, and slamming into the door of another warehouse.

The bodies of all three gangs could be seen littering the walkways, but still many continued to fight for their leaders.

Kaya and Enji stalked forward, their kagunes out and ready for battle. Enji had a Bikaku kagune, while Kaya had an Ukaku like Sally. The Death Angel was struggling to regain her breath; those two punches had packed some power behind them, and Sally was too slow to harden her muscles so that they could take the brunt of the damage. She probably had internal bleeding, too.

The Black Dog and the Devil Ape were just feet away, when everything went pear-shaped.

"Stop! In the name of the CCG, you are all under arrest!" Over a hundred soldiers decked out in full gear and guns loaded with Q Bullets, along with more than a handful of First Class Investigators armed with various Quinques, stood in front of the small army of Ghouls.

The red-eyed beings stood frozen, the leaders all with scowls on under their masks. This was not planned, why the hell were these humans here in the first place!? This was supposed to be a private affair between rival gangs, not an everyone's invited party! Even worse, in their fatigued states, the Ghoul gangs didn't stand a chance against that many CCG officers.

" **No. They are not under anyone's arrest."**

Then a humongous giant of a man crashed down in between the CCG and the Ghouls. Eyes widened and mouths fell open upon recognition of this new arrival. Most thought he was a myth, a legend, just a story to kill little kids. The Head Investigator was able to whisper the name of the new arrival, before the slaughter began.

"The One-Eyed Owl…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Years later_

Sally Jackson stood at the end of a dock, overlooking the Tokyo Bay. The sun was setting behind her, and it was moments like these that she enjoyed the most. The peace, the quiet, the lack of hunger. She had just finished her shift at a quaint little coffee shop by the name of Anteiku, and was spending the last few hours of light staring at the endless expanse of beautiful water.

Sally's nose picked up a scent coming from behind her, one that smelled of the sea breeze, and salty water. She turned around and a light gasp escaped her mouth before she could stop it. It was a man, a very, very beautiful man.

This man's skin was tanned, his beard and hair a dark black, with his hair being in a wind-swept fashion. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green, and shined with a warmth and kindness that no human or Ghoul could possibly emit. He wore a flamboyant Hawai'ian shirt of all things, Bermuda shorts, and sandals befitting a fisherman.

"Hello there," he greeted. God, even is voice was beautiful.

"H-hello," Sally stammered in a very uncharacteristic fashion. She was a SS-rated Ghoul known as the Death Angel. She had killed probably over twenty Ghoul Investigators, and God knows how many other people, and once led a gang that held the 20th ward in an iron grip for over a year, so why was she stammering like a school-girl in the presence of her crush!?

"I'm sorry for intruding like this, but I couldn't help but notice the way you look at the sea. It reminds of the way I look at it as well," the said wistfully.

"R-really? And how do you look at it?"

"As if it's a beautiful woman," Sally's heart skipped, "someone shrouded in mystery and wonder, yet powerful and fierce all the same. The sea holds many secrets, and just below the surface is a world unlike anything that man could ever build." The man looked at Sally with warm eyes, and held out his hand, "May I ask what your name is?"

Sally hesitated, but she put her hand in the man's, "Sally. Sally Jackson. What's yours?

The man kissed the back of her hand and looked back up at her with a smile, showing off his sparkling teeth, "Poseidon."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Six months later_

Sally was hidden in an alleyway, satisfying her growing hunger. She was careful in who she picked to eat, because RC cells were a must-have at this point in her pregnancy. She needed food for herself, and her growing baby.

Right now, her meal consisted of someone dumb enough to try and mug her. A man, probably in his late twenties, well-built, tall, rugged, and tasted very good.

It was quite the shock to learn that the man she had fallen in love with was _the_ Poseidon, and that everything about the myths and legends was true. It was terrifying, actually. Sally hadn't ever been one to read up on mythology, but if her child was going to be born in a world of hungry monsters, angry gods, and ferocious Ghouls…she was scared, and rightfully so.

Of course, it didn't help much in that Poseidon didn't know that is lover was a Ghoul.

"Sally?"

The Death Angel's head snapped up, her glowing red eyes widening at who had called her name. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Poseidon stood at the entrance of the alley, his face morphed into one of confusion and horror. Could you blame him though? He had just found his lover, covered in blood, in an alley, _eating_ another person.

Sally did the only thing she thought was logical: she ran away.

If she had been thinking rationally, she would've realized that running away from a god was next to impossible. Poseidon suddenly appeared in front of her, and he engulfed Sally in a tight hug. She promptly broke down crying his arms.

He wasn't afraid of her.

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 _Three months later_

 _August 18, 1993_

Sally grit her teeth, her kakugan springing to life. With a grunt, she pushed her baby into the world with little more than a slight pinch. She had powered through having her limb removed, and Ghouls had a pain threshold beyond anything a human could hope for.

Poseidon had the hospital staff under a heavy layer of Mist, so that they didn't freak out over their patient suddenly gaining black sclera and red eyes, and her uterus suddenly bringing itself back together without any harm.

Sally took a deep breath. That probably set a world-record for shortest birth, but the cost for it being almost painless and ridiculously short was an astounding amount of energy. The new mother was very hungry now.

Poseidon smiled at his new son, pride and joy in his green eyes. Right now, he wasn't worried about the oath, the prophecy, or Amphitrite, or Triton, or Hades, Zeus, monsters, the Fates, anything. He was just proud to have another to call his flesh and blood.

"Let me see him," Sally said tiredly.

Poseidon walked over, and gently gave his son over to his mother. Sally gingerly held the infant wrapped in blankets close to her, smiling at him with love only a mother could muster.

"What are we going to name him?"

Sally thought long and hard about her lover's question. Her son now lived in a harsh world, and survival would be a bitch, and if Grecian history showed anything, her baby's life was going to be tragic, just like every other Greek hero's…except for one.

"Perseus. Perseus Jackson."

Just then, green veins spread into the newly christened Perseus' eyes, and his lids snapped open, revealing his _green_ kakugan to his parents.

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 _Four years later_

Little Percy backed deeper into the dark alley he had run into, trying to escape the really big black dog that was chasing him. He was playing in the park with his Mommy, when he saw butterfly float past him and he just had to follow it because it looked pretty!

He followed the butterfly, trying to catch it, when he walked past a big dog. It was huge, as big as a car, with black fur, and glowing red eyes, but its eyes weren't like his Mommy's eyes. Mommy's were pretty, the dog's eyes were scary. Percy had run then, as fast as he could (which was really fast), but that dog wouldn't give up. Percy had turned a corner, hoping to find a winding alley so he could try and hide from the dog, but all he found was a dead end.

Really dead.

The dog stalked closer, its hackles raised, its teeth bared, saliva dripping from its shiny fangs, and its burning eyes boring into Percy's with a hungry light. The dog crouched low, and pounced-!

Percy shut his eyes tight, bringing his arms forward in a feeble attempt to protect himself. Just then, he felt something in his back, a lot of somethings, then lots of things felt like they came _out_ of his back. He heard a weird sound, kinda like the sound he heard when he ate dinner with Mommy.

He cracked his eyes open, blissfully unaware that his sclera was black, and green veins were protruding from his iris out to his skin. He gasped when he saw that a bunch of green and black—what were they called? Squids had them…oh, right! —tentacles piercing the giant dog in multiple places, keeping the dog stopped in the air.

Percy counted the tentacles. 1, 2, 3, 4…12. There were 12 green-and-black tentacles in the dog. Then the giant canine dissolved into some pretty golden dust. Percy just stared in awe at the tentacles. He imagined them moving, and, to his shock, _they did_ move! So cool!

He began to move them more, more, and more. It was like moving his arms or legs!

"Percy!" Mommy suddenly yelled from the front of the alley. The boy yelped in surprise, and he giggled as the tentacles receded into his back. That tickled! His Mommy scooped him up into a tight hug, saying how she was so worried about him. Percy just grinned, and told his Mommy about the butterfly, the big dog, and the tentacles, and how he could move them.

Sally sighed out how ADHD her son was, paled at the mention of a hellhound, and felt proud of her son awakening his kagune. It sounded like a powerful one at that; twelve tentacles, probably a Rinkaku, and most likely the number was related to his Olympian heritage.

In reality, this was bad. Percy's scent was now strong enough to attract monsters, and he was fine with only eating just a bit of meat every month or so, but with a twelve-tentacled Rinkaku, his appetite was about to get bigger.

Time to move back in with Yoshimura, and start her son's training.

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 _A few weeks later_

"Alright, Percy. Today, Mr. Yomo's going to teach you, and you're to listen to every word he says, right?" Sally said with an edge.

Percy bobbed his little head, a giant smile on his face. "Yes Mommy!"

Yomo, a large man with white hair, stubble, and dressed in a grey trench coat, let a ghost of a smile cross his face at the interaction between mother and son. He knew Sally well from their 'glory days,' and, even with Yoshimura's intervention, he still couldn't fathom the Death Angel ever having a child. She never did say who the father was though, and Sally wasn't the type to spread her legs for any reason other than love, and she was too powerful to be raped, even by another Ghoul.

Questions for later though. Right now he had to focus on teaching a toddler how to brawl effectively, and hope the kid wouldn't put someone in the hospital.

Percy's RC level was insane, and he had some powerful muscles, even as underdeveloped as they were.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So cute!" an eight-year-old Touka Kirishima gushed when she saw Percy. Her younger brother, Ayato, just raised a brow at the new kid. Percy yelped and used his Mommy's legs as a barrier between him and the Crazy Girl. When Touka ran to the side, Percy scrambled up his Mommy's back and did a handstand on her shoulders.

It was a good thing Anteiku was closed, and the blinds drawn, or this spectacle would've raised many eyebrows.

Sally rolled her eyes at the interaction between the two children, and shifted her shoulders, causing Percy to lose his balance and fall to the ground with an oof. Touka saw her chance and dove, only to hit the floor when he the object of her desire rolled out of the way.

Percy ran behind the other blue-haired kid, and Ayato just sighed…before his eyes widened when he saw his sisterflyingthroughtheair-! CRASH!

Sally, Yoshimura, Irimi, and Koma just chuckled at the spectacle, and Yomo closed his eyes with a small smile on his face. Once the children untangled themselves, Touka latched onto Percy and squeezed. Ayato shook his head. Poor kid, he thought. He began to walk away, but his sister suddenly grabbed him and pulled him down to.

Now Touka had two little brothers!

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 _Four years later_

"Prepare yourself, Percy. I'll only be holding back a little."

"Ha! You'll need everything you have if you want to beat me, Yomo."

The eight-year-old grinned challengingly, but when he settled into his stance, putting his left foot forward, leaning back on his right, bringing his left arm up to cover his lower face and cocking his right arm back for an uppercut, his whole demeanor went from playful boy, to serious fighter.

He closed his eyes, and focused on the RC cells in his body. Bright green veins appeared around his eyes, and just two of his tentacles slid out from underneath his black shirts. The tentacles mimicked his arms, the left drawing across his body, and the right getting primed for an upper-slash. The tentacles were about as thick as a stop sign pole, and were colored black and green where normal kagunes were colored red and black.

Percy's snapped open, revealing his unique kakugan to the world.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A few months later_

"No! I don't need you to keep spoon-feeding me every month! I'm a Ghoul, and I can hunt on my own!"

Sally scowled at her son's attitude. "You don't even know the first thing about hunting, little boy! If I didn't bring you food every month, your little butt would starve to death! Now be quiet, sit down, and eat, before I bend you over my knee and spank you till you're crying like a baby."

Percy scowled right back at his Mom, and hopped out the window, before sprinting full force down the street into the night. He would show her! He wasn't a baby anymore, he was a Ghoul, and he could hunt for his own meals now!

He didn't need help!

His nose easily picked up a scent, and he followed it to its origin of an old man dressed in blankets, pushing a grocery basket with something inside of it. Percy was dressed in all-black; loose-fitting capris, hoodie, gloves, and sneakers. He didn't have a mask yet, so he drew his hood up to where it slightly obscured his face.

It was a residential area, a street surrounded by fences, hedges, and houses, with a bridge overhead, the old man beginning to enter the small tunnel. A couple of street lamps lit up the night with their yellow glow.

Percy's kakugan activated, two of his tentacles emerging from his back in a black and green mist. Driven by hunger and a desire to prove himself, the young Ghoul dashed forward, fast as a cheetah and quiet as a mouse. His lessons with Aunt Kaya finally paying off.

He got to be within five feet of his prey when the old man whirled around, some type of blade in his hand. Percy's eyes widened, and he brought his kagune forward in time to block the old man's swing. The Ghoul's strength overrode the human's, and Percy was able to get a good look at what he was dealing with.

It made his blood run cold.

The thing that almost took his head off was a Quinque, a teal one that was probably once a Bikaku kagune. Percy followed the bastardized weapon to the white-gloved hand, up the grey coat sleeve, to the most deranged face he had ever seen.

"See, Mugeno? If you portray yourself as just another worm, there's no telling what kind of fish you'll attract, and I must say, we've reeled in a rarity!" the man said in crazed voice.

Percy disengaged and leapt backward, and the other Ghoul Investigator popped out from his cover underneath the stuff in the grocery basket. The apparent 'Mugeno' was a young man with tan skin, brown eyes, messy, dark brown hair, and clear hero-worship in the windows to his soul. "Mr. Mado…how did you know that a Ghoul was around here?"

"Instinct, my boy, instinct. Now, I'm interested in what kind of Quinque this one's kagune will make."

"But Mr. Mado," Mugeno gasped. "He's just a kid…"

"Come now, my boy. You think that mean's anything in this world? Regardless of their age, all Ghouls see humans as their prey, and besides, this one may be young now, but what will happen when he gets older? No, it's best that we put him out of his misery now, _before he becomes a threat in the future!_ " Mado screamed and he charged forward.

Percy didn't know whether to be afraid or excited. These were Ghoul Investigators, people that were trained to fight and kill Ghouls with extreme prejudice. On the other hand, these were _Ghoul Investigators_. What better to prove he was strong, then to kill those that were meant to kill him?

Mado charged at Percy with all of the grace of a drunken bull, but even a sober bull was a dangerous threat, so the Ghoul casually leapt high above the deranged old man, and made a beeline for the frozen Mugeno. Maybe it was the green eyes, but the other Investigator stood frozen and unmoving, even when Percy plunged his tentacles through the man's heart and larynx.

Maybe it was because he was a Ghoul, and it was his very biology to hunt and kill humans, but as Percy stared into the dying eyes of Mugeno, he didn't feel anything. No, that was a lie. He felt satisfied, content, whole, complete, synonyms with the phrase _at peace_.

Percy heard the old man sprinting at him behind, and turned around to fight.

Quinque and kagune clashed in a rapid flurry of sparks and blurs. Mado was having a ball fighting a powerful Ghoul, and Percy was being pushed to his limits…with two of his tentacles. He had ten more just waiting to be unleashed to crush this Investigator.

The two dead-locked again, and Percy kept his down so Mado wouldn't see his face, and the man's face was crazed as ever, with one eye narrowed and the other impossibly wide, showing off more sclera that what should be possible.

Mado's Quinque began to press _down_ , the old man displaying his physical ability. Imagine the Investigator's surprise, when _four more_ tentacles burst from the boy's back, and him (Mado) flying back.

The First Class Investigator dug his Quinque into the street, halting his momentum while carving a trench through the asphalt. Mado grinned when he saw what his opponent had become. The boy was crouched low to the ground, in a runner-like stance, six black-and-green Rinkaku tentacles splayed straight out behind him, pulsing with energy. His head was bowed in a way so that his hood and the street light above him shrouded his face in shadow, but his beady green eyes glowed brightly.

"My, my, my. Six tentacles, little, glowing eyes, and a penchant for green. You look like some kind of tiny sea-creature! HAHAHAHA! Like a baby _Kraken!_ HAHAHAHAHA!" Mado toned down his laughter, and both of his eyes became dull and half-lidded, "Now it's time to get serious."

Percy exploded forward in a blur of black and a streak of green light, the small shockwave shattering the above light.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy was lying face-down on the asphalt, his own blood pooling around him. His kagune receded into his back, and his clothes were torn in multiple places. Luckily, his hood was still up, so Mado couldn't see his face.

The Ghoul had been defeated. Despite his strength, his speed, his agility, his durability, and his superior kagune, he had still lost. Soundly. Kureo Mado might have been ranked at only First Class, but the man was far more skilled than that. The Investigator had taken down Percy with _surgical_ precision, tearing apart every slash, swipe, jab, spin, punch, and kick thrown at him.

For all of his training, Percy was no match for the superior experience of First Class Investigator Kureo Mado.

Then again, he had only fought at half of his full power, so he was about to die with the question of 'what if' floating around in his head.

Mado chuckled as he approached the downed Ghoul, his trusty Quinque held tight in his hand. "And so ends the tail of the Kraken before it could even begin. Don't worry though, I'll put your kagune to good use," Mado chuckled before raising his Quinque. "Now die!"

A hail of red and white spikes streaked in from nowhere.

Mado leapt back, but his Quinque was knocked out of his hand. Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw the origin of those Ukaku spikes. Descending from the darkness of the night was an angel wreathed in white. Her face was calm and peaceful, and her robe was pure as freshly fallen snow. Sprouting from her back were wings made of clouds, and blood.

The Death Angel was back.

She alighted next to the little Ghoul, surveyed the battle field, taking note of the craters, the destroyed lights, and the dead body lying underneath the bridge. She slowly swiveled her head around back to Mado, and the Investigator froze under the weight of those crimson orbs.

This feeling…it was the same look his wife gave him whenever he screwed up with their daughter.

The Death Angel scooped up the boy into her arms, bridal style, before flapping her kagune and vanishing from sight. Mado stood there for a while, just drinking in the moment, before he realized something: the Death Angel had birthed a child.

The First Class Investigator grinned as he retrieved his Quinque.

So, that boy, the Ghoul with the Rinkaku, who was the son of the Death Angel…Mado would report this with glee. A new Ghoul to be added to the 20th ward's list. An A-ranked Ghoul, by the name of Kraken…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sally didn't dare go back to Anteiku, not with this amount heat. Her son had just _killed_ an Investigator, and went toe-to-toe with one of the CCG's best, and if not for her timely arrival, would've died. She was equal parts proud, relieved, and furious with her baby.

Only nine-years-old, and already a murderer.

Percy was numb right now as he was held safe in the arms of his mother. He was scared, and his pride had been wounded on an ungodly level. He had wanted to prove he was strong, but he still needed to be protected. He would've been dead if not for his mother.

With that in mind, Percy clung tighter to her.

Sally felt her son's grip increase on her cloak, and she just couldn't find the strength to be mad at him. How could she? It _was_ partly her fault this had all happened. If she had taken him out hunting, he wouldn't have felt coddled, or the need to show off his strength. Sally was originally going to ground him for running off like this, but any punishment would pale in comparison to what happened tonight.

Percy had his first near-death experience, and Sally was deeply worried that it wouldn't be his last.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A year later_

 _Percy's age: 11_

Yoshimura and Sally watched with neutral expressions as Percy engaged Yomo, Kaya, and Enji in three-on-one combat. Twelve black-and-green tentacles burst for the boy's back, and they began to flail around wildly in an uncoordinated flurry of destruction. Despite their power, the three SS-rated Ghouls were hard-pressed to evade each strike.

Ayato had left Anteiku a few weeks ago, the 15-year-old vanishing in the night. They all saw it coming of course, the staff members. The boy had boar a grudge against humanity ever since his father mysteriously disappeared, and he loathed his sister and Percy for making friends with the humans.

Despite Sally's efforts in keeping their little family together, she couldn't save Ayato from the proverbial darkness he had fallen into.

News had spread like wildfire about the Ghoul called Kraken that had fought against Kureo Mado, and lived. Somehow, the story had been twisted by even the CCG to where the Death Angel was never involved. It made people question whether or not Kraken should've been S-rated instead of A-rated.

Percy had taken that news with a grain of salt. While saying he wanted to be just like his mother wasn't exactly a good thing, he did want to be strong, so he could protect Touka, and his new friend, Hinami. Sally often teased the two eleven year olds about when their wedding was supposed to be.

In a moment of cliché befitting an anime, Percy had asked for his training to be increased after _that_ night. Yoshimura had just shrugged, before asking Sally what her opinion was. The mother had caved in under the power of her son's puppy-dog eyes. Cute little bugger…

The results of his increased training were right in front of everybody. Percy stood in front of his three opponents, who were all heavily panting, with his breathing only slightly more labored. His twelve tentacles were splayed out behind him, all of them poised to spear at the three Ghouls. His face was covered by a mask now, since he had been officially dubbed 'Kraken.'

Uta had fashioned the boy a mask perfectly befitting the moniker. **(Google Images| Triton Kraken Mask| first image)**

Percy's green eyes glowed from the eyeholes of his mask. The style of the mask, his posture, and the number of tentacles he had made him appear to be some sort of ancient sea monster. His muscles tensed, and all three got ready for Round 2, when Yoshimura held his arm out.

"That's enough for you three," he said calmly. Yomo, Kaya, and Enji didn't voice it, but all three were glad for the reprieve. That boy was a monster at fighting. Always moving, insane reflexes, and an RC level that shouldn't have been possible for a child his age. 7,320; that was Percy's RC count.

Yoshimura smiled in his grandfatherly way at Percy. "From this point onward, _I_ shall be your sparring partner, and the others will assist me if I feel it necessary. Now, I want you to prepare yourself, Percy, for I may be old and out of practice," Yoshimura's body changed, his muscles becoming bigger, his Koukaku springing from his arms, spikes erupting from his back, a red cloak forming around him, and his face became covered in a white mask with an eyehole on the right side, and three horizontal lines on the left, **"but I'm still far above you,** _ **child**_ **."**

Percy said nothing, only springing into the first of many battles against the One-Eyed Owl.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Percy, happy birthday to you!"

Percy just sat at the table, an embarrassed expression on his face as his family sung to him. When they finished, he blew out the twelve candles on his blue birthday cake with a single breath, causing everybody to cheer.

Anteiku was closed today, for a private event. The coffee shop was decorated with streamers, paper-link chains, and your everyday party decorations. Of course, the cake was only ceremonial, because eating that, for a Ghoul, was like feeding a dog chocolate.

Instead, the party food was more 'steak' oriented.

Sally, Yoshimura, Yomo, Kaya, Enji, Asaki and Ryouko Fueguchi, their daughter Hinami, and Touka were all present for the second youngest's birthday party. There weren't many presents, because Percy already had everything he wanted. Instead, most everyone just bought a thoughtful card and put a few hundred yen in each one.

If Percy saw something that he liked, he would buy it himself.

Of course, that wasn't to say money was all he got. The Kraken, after a few nonlethal bouts with low-class Ghoul Investigators to test his power, had been given an S-rating, and, judging by his height and small build, held the record for youngest Ghoul with any rating ever.

Yoshimura had also offered his grandson a spot as a junior waiter in Anteiku, something Percy accepted with the biggest of grins. That grin turned into a playful groan when he was told Touka was going to be his boss, to which the 16-year-old smiled devilishly. Sally just chuckled in amusement, and silently prayed to the Christian God that life would stay like this forever.

No Doves, no malicious Ghouls, no monsters, and Percy not having to do anything even remotely related to his father's side of the family.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that night_

"Mom? Why is Dad never around?"

Sally's breath hitched in her throat. It was bedtime now, and she was busy tucking her son in for the night after an exhausting day of being the center of attention, opening envelopes with money inside, and hunting with Touka.

In twelve years, Percy had never asked his father, so Sally had never really bothered to tell him. Hell, she hadn't seen Poseidon since this time in 1993, but she knew he was watching. Every now and then, like today, she could smell just the barest traces of sea-salt in the air, and whenever she turned to look at the source of the scent, she could see the faintest outline of a man.

"Your father…is a very important man, Percy. His job requires him to be at sea almost all of the time, and he doesn't get very many days off. There are some years, where doesn't get _any_ vacation days, because he's such an important person. I know this all sounds strange, Percy, but he has ways of watching you, and I know that he's _very_ proud of the young man you're becoming," Sally brushed some of her baby's raven locks to the side, pecking his forehead, "just like I am."

Percy smiled, before closing his eyes for the night. Sally smiled, and headed for her room, shutting off the light and closing the door. Before the door shut all the way, her acute sense of hearing heard a tiny voice whisper:

"I love you, Dad."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _January 3, 2006_

Something was wrong with the world. The others at Anteiku didn't notice it, but Sally did. Having a god climax in her womb had left the Death Angel with a few benefits, like right now. An instinct telling her that something big had happened a few weeks ago, on the 21st; in other words, the Winter Solstice.

Sally knew that was the day that the Olympian gods convened for their semi-annual meeting, so _something_ happened, and it had Zeus and Poseidon _pissed_. There were frequent reports of rough seas, capsized ships, jumbo jets being struck by lightning, or encountering severe turbulence, planes getting grounded, and ships having to stay at port.

Sally feared that her son was about to be dragged into the world she wanted him to have nothing to do with.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that night_

Sally was sleeping soundly in her bed that night, before she was pulled into a dream.

She was on the sea floor, but probably only 30 or so feet deep. The dirt was flat and the odd object poked up here and there. The water was a beautiful crystal blue, and the noonday sun shined through the waves above.

Sally turned around, the water offering no resistance to her movements. Poseidon stood behind her, dressed the exact same way as when they first met twelve years ago. His face wasn't his usual happy smile, and his eyes were heavy, and tired, not their usual lustrous green.

Sally walked over to her lover, and they hugged for what felt like years. "What's happened, Poseidon?"

The Sea God sighed, "Someone has stolen my brother's Master Bolt, and he blames the theft on me. The arrogant bastard has declared that if the bolt isn't returned by the Summer Solstice, it'll be war."

Sally gasped. A war of the demigods had killed hundreds of millions; so what kind of destruction would a war of the gods be like?

"Zeus has all of the other gods out searching for it, but I fear that they will not succeed…" Sally picked up on what Poseidon was hinting at, and she vehemently opposed the idea, "No! You're not dragging our son into this mess, because your brother can't find his magic sparkplug. He's living a happy life without any Greek influence, and I want it to stay that way forever!"

Poseidon felt his old heart getting heavy. He hated this, he really did; he wanted his son to keep living the simple life he was living right now, but he _knew_ that Percy was the Child of Prophecy. Thalia was currently a tree, and the di Angelo's have been in the Lotus Hotel for decades now. As much as he loathed to admit it, if the gods couldn't find the Master Bolt, then it was up to Percy to lead a quest.

"Sally," Poseidon sighed. "We both know that Percy's destiny lies not at Anteiku, and we both know that it was inevitable that he would have to enter the mythological world. As it stands, if the Master Bolt isn't found by June 21, Percy's the only one that can prevent a divine war from breaking out."

"But how will the other demigods handle this? Percy's a Ghoul, he needs to _eat_ human flesh, needs to eat RC cell-rich flesh, in order to live. I know for a fact that the demigods don't have RC cells, and Percy starving was bad enough when he was six, imagine the nightmare he would become at 12, and surrounded by people that he couldn't sustain himself with!" Sally argued.

Poseidon rubbed her back, right on top of her kakuhou. "That's not something you'll have to worry about. I may not be able to interfere directly, but I can easily drop some meat in every month or so." Sally was still unconvinced. "Then how about this: Percy can stay here, but when June comes, he _will_ go to Camp Half-Blood. War is bad enough, my love, but a war between the gods…Zeus might not be our father, but his regard for mortals is very limited."

Sally buried her head in the Sea God's chest. "Why him, Poseidon? Why our Percy?"

The Earthshaker held her tight. "Because he's my son."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Months later_

Over the course of the following weeks, Percy began to have nightmares. Vivid ones. He dreamed of monsters straight out of horror films, events that were spoken of only in myths, and epic battles between men and women in togas. It was not uncommon to find Percy curled up tight against Touka in the morning, the boy finding solace in the arms of his Big Sister.

It was not uncommon to find Touka's kagune out and wrapping them together.

Sally had kept a careful track of the happenings of the world, and her dread increased when things only continued to get worse. The gods and still not found the Bolt yet, and today was June 1. The day Poseidon said that Percy would have to go to Camp Half-Blood.

The Death Angel both shuttered and sighed when she thought of her Ghoul son being surrounded by other demigods. Poseidon had shown her the camp, the activities, and the children's powers, and Sally just shook her head. Despite them being half god, none of those brats could hold a candle to Percy.

His RC level was dangerously approaching 8000. He fought toe-to-toe with the One-Eyed Owl every weekend. He could regenerate almost every injury (even reattach severed limbs if necessary). His skin, when his kakugan was active, was harder than diamond, and the celestial bronze weaponry would probably not even leave a scratch, and that was even if the demigods did manage to get close enough to get in a slash.

His reflexes, stamina, ADHD, durability, and his skill with his Rinkaku all combined to make him a dangerous fighting machine. He just couldn't be still on the battlefield, always darting around, sliding across, or leaping about, swinging his tentacles around like whips, using blunt force or sharp-edge attacks.

Gods, how many abandoned warehouses had the boy knocked down when sparring with Yoshimura?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Anteiku was twelve minutes from closing. Yoshimura and Enji were cleaning up the glasses and putting away the coffee things. Touka and Percy were teasing each other as they cleaned up the tables from the day's abuse, both of them in their fancy uniforms. Sally sat in a chair, flipping through a book by one Takatsuki Sen.

The day had gone as every other day. Touka and Percy competing to take the most orders, the customers chuckling and giggling at the two's antics, finding it cute and refreshing. The adults busy brewing coffee and adding the specified ingredients. The usual people had come in, some new faces had shown up, the Ghouls all carefully observing human behavior so that they could fit in. Sally was just relieved that no one in orange shirts had barged in here asking for her son.

 _Jingle-jingle-jingle_

The Ghouls all looked at the new arrivals with looks that clearly displayed their displeasure at people walking in just as at closing time. Except for Yoshimura and Sally; the old man could that these people were not ordinary humans, especially the little one with auburn hair, and Sally knew who these people were from what Poseidon had shown her.

"We're looking for Perseus Jackson," Artemis said, most of her Hunters standing behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **And there's the first chapter of my new story.**_

 _ **If you noticed some inconsistencies between it and the manga, good for you. I tried reading manga once, the backwards format and the ungodly mix-mash of black and white was too much for me to wrap my head around, so I have not read**_ _ **Tokyo Ghoul**_ _ **, so much as watched Seasons 1 and 2, nor have I watched the OVAs. Do not hate me.**_

 _ **Since this was the fan-favorite, I expect this story to get some love. I don't expect 50 reviews right off the bat, but a good solid 20 sounds nice. Let me know how I did, give me some tips to make it better, ask questions, speak your mind, do whatever.**_

 _ **For my usual last words…**_

 _ **Favorite!**_

 _ **Follow!**_

 _ **And Review PLEASE!**_


	2. Making an Impression

_Making an Impression_

 _ ***Posts story. Tries really hard not to look at inbox. Goes to bed. Wakes up. Checks inbox. Almost drops phone at seeing notifications. ***_

 _ **I love my fans! I asked for 20 reviews and I got more than 20 reviews! It's this kind of shit that makes spending hours of my day writing all worthwhile in the end. Based on the ratio of 20 reviews per chapter, we'll surpass**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **with a mere six chapters.**_

 _ **Well received so far, and I hope to keep it that way.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I own neither franchise, but I do own this crossover…I think. I'm not entirely sure how Copyright works when it comes to Fanfiction

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As much as Percy loved being on this cruise ship, speeding across the Pacific Ocean to California, he already missed Anteiku.

 _Flashback_

" _We're looking for Perseus Jackson," the auburn haired girl said._

 _Percy blinked, and slid behind Touka ever so slightly. His full name was only used by his Mom whenever he was in trouble, but how did this girl even know his name period? Another thing, that girl smelled like trees, and danger, and so did the other girls in silver. They all smelled dangerous._

" _And what business do you have with Perseus?" Yoshimura asked, a warning edge in his voice. They weren't Doves, but they weren't humans, either. Or at least, normal humans. Their scent was distinctly homosapien, but it not only lacked the smell of RC cells, meaning they were foreigners, but there was an added aroma that what was both enticing, and screamed of caution._

 _Of course, that didn't mean they were a threat, per se, but they were more than what they let on._

" _That is no concern of yours, old man. Tell us where the boy is; we're here to take him to a place that doesn't involve you," a girl with blonde hair and dark grey eyes said, probably 18 or so. Touka didn't like that, not one bit. She stepped fully in front of her little bro, something that confirmed the boy's identity to the girls._

" _Like hell you're taking him anywhere," Touka snapped. "Who the hell do you think any of you are, barging into here just as we're about to close, and start demanding to know where one of our own is?" Her kakugan wasn't active…yet._

 _The girl with a tiara on her head stepped forward, her black eyes narrowing, "Watch your mouth, girl. You don't know who you're talking to."_

" _Yeah? I don't give a fuck who I'm talking to. You're not taking Percy."_

 _The Persian girl stepped forward with a scowl, but a giant, white-with-red-veins wing appeared in front of her. The girl blinked, following the wing back to the black-haired woman who had been silent the entire time. Strangely enough, red veins had appeared around the woman's eyes, which were closed. Then her eyes opened, and the girls in silver reached for their weapons with audible gasps._

" _If we're done with the threats, I believe you're the moon goddess Artemis?"_

 _The girl with silver eyes nodded, just a little perturbed by the erie black and red eyes now staring at her. There were more gasps, and Artemis was now creeped out. The girl with the bangs also had those eyes, as well as the man with the bulbous nose and the ridiculous pompadour. The old man's eyes had cracked open, but his black-and-red orbs didn't have the red veins sprouting from the iris._

 _Percy peaked out from Touka's back, his green kakugan shining just as bright as the red ones, only his eyes weren't shining with the light of mistrust and caution, his were wide with childlike curiosity._

" _I trust that Poseidon sent you and…company?"_

 _Artemis nodded again, centuries of experience telling her that saying the wrong thing would result in a brawl, and the goddess wasn't so sure of her chances against these creatures._

 _Sally sighed deeply, and retracted her wing. So, the Bolt hadn't been found then. As much as she didn't want to, she had to let them take her baby with them to Camp Half-Blood. Maybe it was selfish of her to want to keep Percy sheltered from that world, maybe it was cliché that all of this was for the sake of the entire planet, but dammit it all to hell._

" _Touka…stand down. Enji…prepare a travel bag. Yoshimura…keep everyone from trying to kill each other. Percy…come here."_

 _The tone in which Sally used was enough to make the aforementioned people do as they were asked. Touka stepped to the side with a scowl, Enji pulled an insulated blue bag the size of a German Shepherd out from under the counter, and opened up a fridge. Yoshimura fixed the Hunters with a hard stare, and even the oldest of them felt like insects under a magnifying glass. Percy walked over to his mother, looking very snazzy in his waiter's uniform._

 _Sally pulled the twelve-year-old onto her lap, he was just small enough to still fit comfortably. Blood red bored deep into sea green, more emotion swimming around in those crimson orbs than what could be conveyed with speech. Sally swallowed the lump in her throat, and tried to explain what was going on._

" _Percy, this is Artemis. She's your cousin, on your father's side of the family." The Kraken's eyes widened. Maybe she knew about his dad! "She's here to take you to a special place where a lot of other people like you live. I want you to treat her with the same respect you show to me and the Ancient One," Sally cracked a smile as Percy snickered at his nickname for Yoshimura._

" _There's a lot of things going on right now, Percy. Artemis will explain most of them, but I want you to do something very important for me, Percy."_

" _Yes, Momma?"_

" _Make me proud."_

" _The bag's ready, Sally," Enji said quietly. The Death Angel nodded, and told Percy and Touka to pack some clothes into the bag. The Kraken nodded with a smile, and Rabbit's reaction was more neutral. The two ascended the stairs to the apartments above, leaving the people 30 years and older to stare down each other in silence._

 _Percy threw open the door to his room, confused and excited at the same time. As Touka packed the necessary clothes that were needed for an unspecified amount of time away, Percy undressed and redressed himself in a manner befitting the Tasmanian Devil._

 _Now he was dressed in white shoes, black jeans, and a white hoodie…and a teasing grin only a younger brother with a big sister could pull off. Touka just rolled her eyes and wacked him in the head with the 70lb bag, knocking him the ground with a pained 'dammit Touka.'_

" _Language," she threw over her shoulder. Percy's pseudo-sister was such a hypocrite._

 _The two walked back down the stairs to see Artemis and the girls fidgeting and shifting under the stares of the three Ghouls with SS-ratings and higher. The tension so thick that Percy's kagune probably wouldn't've been able to cut it._

" _Um…ready," the Kraken said hesitantly._

 _Sally broke her stare down of Artemis and looked at her son. She sighed tiredly, the acceptance of the inevitable weighing down on her. She stood from her chair and spread her arms, and Percy moved at a speed that had Artemis' silver eyes spinning in her sockets. The goddess gripped her head and made her eyes freeze in place._

" _Promise me you'll behave," Sally said. "I know how rambunctious you can get when you're bored, but Touka and I won't be there to reign your little butt in."_

 _Percy giggled into his mother's shoulder. Sally just smiled at her son's antics, and ruffled his messy black hair. The boy whined and batted the offending limbs away from his head. Some of the Hunters failed in hiding their 'Awwws' and Touka scoffed, while Yoshimura cracked a small smile and Enji kept silently glaring at the ones in silver._

 _He didn't trust them with his nephew._

 _Artemis coughed. "Sorry for interrupting, but we're on a sort of schedule here, and flashing everyone to Japan from the Palo Duro Canyon has left me drained."_

 _Sally nodded, and Percy scampered over to his apparent cousin, eager to meet someone from his family. Some of the girls scowled at the presence of a male, despite his juvenileness, and Percy's face morphed into one of 'can-I-help-you-with-something-buttholes?'_

 _Sensing the mounting confrontation, Artemis quickly began to usher her surrogate daughters out the door, like the Chinese usher dogs into the back of a truck. Before the goddess herself could follow, Touka called out to her. Artemis turned around, as did Phoebe, Zoё, and Percy._

 _The Goddess of the Moon was hoisted into the air by her throat._

 _As Artemis stared into those vermillion eyes, suspended in pools drawn from the Void itself, she felt a fear that she hadn't felt since Python was about to swallow her whole. And that fear only increased when blood and fire began to leak from Touka's back._

 _Phoebe immediately nocked an arrow meant for mortals, and let it fly at the freak's heart. The shaft shattered in twine upon impact. The Huntress dropped her bow in shock, and Touka's grip tightened._

" _Listen, and listen good, bitch. I don't know who you are, or why your taking Percy, or why Ms. Sally is letting you do this, but I don't care. That's my little brother you're stealing, so if anything happens to him…I will hunt you down, and your corpse will be my dinner," Touka dropped the goddess with a sneer. "Now get out before I change my mind and slaughter all of you."_

 _The remaining Huntresses scrambled away as fast as they could._

 _Percy gave Touka one last hug before following._

 _ **End Flashback**_

From there, the large group somehow boarded a cruise ship bound for San Francisco without paying, got the five-star package (suites, accesses, restaurants, the works), Percy got his own room, and the Huntresses all got their own rooms too. From there, it was a game of twenty questions and long explanations between cousins.

What are you?

Who's my dad?

Where are we going?

What's it like there?

What's in the bag?

You eat human flesh!?

You're a goddess!?

What's a Ghoul?

Myths are real?

What's a kakugan?

What's a kakuhou?

What's a kagune?

What's a kakuja?

Where's Camp Half-Blood?

How are we going to get from San Francisco all the way to Long Island?

What's it like living in Japan?

What's the CCG?

What's a Quinque?

What's celestial bronze?

How many demigods are there?

Back and forth the two cousins went for literal hours, both amazed by the world in which the other lived. Night time rolled around, and Percy and Artemis were still animatedly talking. Midnight came, and Zoё knocked on the cabin door before entering, only to find her mistress and the child _still_ talking. The lieutenant became a little jealous right then. In the three millennia she had been with her mistress, the two had never engaged in a conversation this long.

Ever.

Zoё informed Artemis that everyone was sleeping peacefully, and the goddess nodded her head, before wishing Percy a goodnight. The Ghoul sat there confused for a bit, wondering why his cousin just so abruptly ended their conversation, before he started hearing strange sounds coming from the other room.

Funny, those were the same sounds that Touka made at night when she thought everyone was asleep.

The cruise had been uneventful for the most part. Percy learned that there were three types of Hunters, though. Those that avoided him like the plague, those that glared at him like he just killed their dog, and those that were nice and acted kinda like Touka did. If Percy wanted to go anywhere on the cruise ship, he had to have one of the Huntresses with him, as per Artemis' orders.

The goddess was taking Touka's threat very seriously.

That was a bummer actually. He didn't need a babysitter, and some of the meaner girls treated him like he was a baby. One of them thought it was funny to buy a package of diapers and try to strong-arm him into one. Percy punched that Huntress in the face hard enough to knock out more than a few of her teeth, and send her consciousness somewhere into next year.

Then he put one of the diapers on her, over her jeans.

Now _that_ was funny.

Of course, once that Huntress's body was found lying on the side deck, most the other girl-scouts had come at him, hunting knives drawn. They all froze and made a rapid about-face when he activated his kakugan and released a few of his tentacles. Good thing Artemis was working the Mist, or that would've caused quite the panic among the passengers.

Back to the present, Percy banged his head against the rail. "Ugh. This is so boring!"

The Huntress that was with him, a girl by the name of Jess, sighed along with him, "Tell me about it. This entire cruise ship, complete with everything you could ever need, and it sucks."

Jess was a girl that looked about as Southern as her name suggested. Blue jeans tucked into silver colored boots with black stitching. A white t-shirt underneath a grey-ish button-up that was left open. A straw cow-girl's hat, and she completed the look with a strand of wheat sticking out the side of her mouth.

She used to be a rancher in the late 1800s with her family, before a tribe of Indians came and laid waste to the land. The redskins made her watch as they butchered her father, mother, little brother, and even her dog. The tribe was going to use her as breeding material (they were about to get to work that very night) until a swarm of arrows appeared out nowhere just as the chief was about to put the tip in.

Jess joined the Hunters of Artemis at the ripe old age of 13 and a half.

Which was probably why she was able to get along so well with Percy; they were the same age. 

"Hey, wanna fight?" Jess suddenly asked. It was harmless in nature, just a question, an attempt at alleviating the monotony of barreling through the ocean, but to Percy, that almost like her asking him to kill her.

The Kraken could tell, he was able to tell from the way Touka hoisted Artemis into the air, that these people were, not to be rude, weak. Even the humans on this ship weren't like the humans back in Tokyo. Their scent was different, because these people had no RC cells. They weren't enticing at all. Contrary to popular belief, Ghouls didn't eat humans for the meat, they ate humans for the RC; that was why they could commit cannibalism and be just fine.

However, Jess, or anybody else for that matter, had no RC cells in their body, which meant they had no durability, speed, strength, or weapons capable of fighting on par with even the weakest of Ghouls. Except for Artemis, because she was a goddess, and could snap her fingers, and make everyone into jackalopes, or worse.

The Moon Goddess had said in passing that Percy would've made a very cute girl, to which the demigod just chuckled nervously at the intense gaze that was set upon him.

Goddesses were scary.

But Percy was getting way off topic here. Fighting against Jess would be like fighting against a regular human. He would tear her apart without even meaning to. A love-tap to the other Huntress's face had been enough to blow out half of her teeth, and she hadn't even woken up yet.

"Um…that's not a good idea," Percy said hesitantly; it was clear that the Hunters hated boys for some reason or another, believing that all boys believed that they were superior to girls, which made them (the Hunters) angry at the mere presence of the XY chromosome. Gods, how many boys and men had the Hunters feminized already on this ship? One thing was for sure, there were a lot more 'girls' on the vessel than there was during when they first set sail. "I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

Jess narrowed her eyes, and Percy was afraid he was about to reflexively punch a hole through her, but then the Huntress shrugged. "It's okay that you're scared. I would be scared to fight me too. After all, a baby like you could hardly stand up to someone like me," Jess said with her eyes closed, and her chin tilted up.

Lesson Number 57 with Uncle Yomo: never react to the taunts of your enemy. The Raven spent days throwing out every insult in the book, before writing an entirely new book, in an attempt to get Percy to attack blindly. It worked more times than not, because the Kraken had once had a very short fuse. However, after Yomo kept knocking him out with a single, well-placed strike, Percy had learned to ignore taunts and jeers.

Jess was promptly ignored, much to her shock. She was sure that would've riled the boy up! Jabs at age, especially with how old Percy was, always got a reaction out of any child. Just how mature was the boy?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the cruise was still boring, but many of the Hunters wanted to fight against Percy, for one reason or another. After several days of this, the Kraken finally got fed up with their pestering…and blew a steel door off its hinges, all the way to the other side of the ship, and out across the ocean.

No one wanted to fight him after that little display.

He hadn't even needed the initial burst of power that came with activating his kakugan.

After docking in San Francisco, Artemis, having had several days to recover her powers, flashed just herself, Perseus, and his bag cross-country to the boundary line of Camp Half-Blood, somewhere between 9 and 10 in the morning on a Wednesday. The boy felt just a little disoriented after being molecularly disassembled and reassembled instantaneously over a distance of about 2900 miles, but he recovered quickly enough.

Artemis had taken on a form more appropriate for a woman in her twenties.

She knelt down next to Percy, making him worry that she was going to turn him into a girl. "I'm not going to turn you into a girl," she said with amusement clear in her voice. "I want to give you a warning, though. The campers here are as judgmental, suspicious, and hostile as my Huntresses. Be cautious and wary of those around you, and keep an eye on your back. They won't be as idiotic as to kill you, but that won't stop them from trying to humiliate you. Of course, with that being said, don't be afraid to show them your power. Not your kagune, per se, but your strength, your agility, your reflexes, your speed, your invulnerability, and your regeneration."

Percy nodded his head, determination in his eyes that could only be found in anime characters. Artemis smiled and ruffled his hair, much like Sally did. "Oh, if only you had been born a girl," she said wistfully. "You would've made a spectacular Huntress."

"Um, thanks, I guess," Percy liked his anatomy just the way it was. With that, the S-rated Ghoul turned around and sprinted up the hill, froze, sprinted back down and Artemis a tight hug. Stunned was the goddess, and Percy disengaged before blurring up over the hill, and into Camp Half-Blood.

Artemis sighed to herself after a while. Being the Goddess of Childbirth, she had the power to sense every demigod birth world-wide, so she knew long ago about the existence of one Perseus Jackson, she just didn't know the exact circumstances.

When Poseidon had come to her days ago, requesting that she go to a coffee shop in the 20th ward of Tokyo, Japan by the name of 'Anteiku,' and with the warning that the mortals there were _different_ …the last thing Artemis expected was an entirely different species of humanity that needed to eat the flesh of those around them in order to survive.

No, that wasn't right. An entire country of a different species, with a natural predator that required a certain type of sustenance not found anywhere else on the planet.

"I wish you luck…cousin…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy cleared the top of the hill, whistled in appreciation of the scenery, spotted the place Artemis had described as the Big House, and made a beeline for that place. Amazingly, no-one had seen him, but that was probably due to his speed. He could dodge and weave through bullets with relative ease, and bullets weren't exactly easy to see.

Sitting on the front porch, surrounding a table, playing some kind of card game, was an older man in a wheelchair, clad in a tweed jacket, and smelled like coffee, horses, and something really old. The other man was wearing khaki shorts, a horrendous leopard-print shirt, and was drinking a can of diet coke. There was also some boy with facial hair, terrible acne, and a distinct aroma of goat.

Chiron, Dionysus, and a satyr. Artemis had described all three perfectly.

"You smell…strange, boy," Dionysus said. "I take it that you're one more brat I'll have to deal with?"

"Um…yeah?"

"Confound it, Chiron! However do you manage to keep beating me!?" The man in the tweed jacket just smiled, "Experience, Mr. D, experience. I've been playing this game since before you were born." He didn't sound like he was joking, either. The satyr hadn't said anything, only looking at Percy the same way prey did as it was about to die.

Percy wasn't exactly looking to make friends here, but he wasn't trying ostracize himself either. If the satyr could smell that he was a Ghoul, and decided to tell everyone here to be warry of the new kid, things could get difficult.

"Young man, can you hear me?"

Percy blinked as Chiron's voice brought him back to reality, "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

Dionysus snorted, "See, old friend? Kids these days, no respect for their elders."

The God of Wine was quickly making his way onto Percy's shit list. Chiron just smiled again, clearly used to scatterbrained kids unintentionally ignoring him. "I asked if you knew where you were."

"Camp Half-Blood right? The place where demigods are trained how to survive by you, Chiron."

The centaur blinked, clearly caught off-guard by the boy's knowledge. "If you know that much, do you know who your godly parent is?"

Percy shrugged. "Not a clue. Mom just told me a few days to pack a bag and head for Long Island Sound, so I did." An effortless lie. Artemis had told him about the Oath, and strolling up in here claiming to be the son of Poseidon with knowledge of the missing Bolt, red flags would be thrown higher than Olympus. The satyr was hyperventilating, so Dionysus slapped his back, which made the hybrid creature go flying across the camp grounds.

The god just shrugged, "Oops."

Chiron sighed, before looking at Percy. "Come. Let's get you settled in."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chiron showed the newest resident around the camp. The climbing wall that spewed lava (Percy could jump to the top of that easily), the stables, (the pegasi spoke to Percy) the armory, (completely useless to someone with a kagune), the lake (excellent swimming spot), the arena (the kids in there were so easy to follow it was sad), and before they got to the cabins, a blonde with grey eyes and a Yankees cap sprinted up to them.

"Ah, Annabeth," Chiron greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Who's the new kid?" Percy cocked a brow at the daughter of Athena's attitude. What? He had spent almost a week with the Huntresses, there were a few Athena-kids in the ranks. Blonde hair and grey eyes were a dead giveaway.

Apparently, the old centaur was used to this kind of blunt directness. "Annabeth, this is…my apologies, but all this time I forgot to ask for your name," Chiron said, clearly embarrassed.

Percy just shrugged, and held his hand out to Annabeth, "My name's Percy Jackson."

The girl studied the outstretched appendage in the way a scientist studied an animal it was about to dissect. It wasn't the worst look the Ghoul had received; he tangled with Investigators on an almost weekly basis. Those people had some mean looks.

Eventually, Annabeth decided where she wanted to make the first incision, and gripped Percy's outstretched hand. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Excellent. Your arrival is actually most opportune, Annabeth, for I have archery class to teach in five minutes. Would you mind showing Percy the rest of camp? Get him situated in Cabin 11?"

A smile and a nod, "Sure, Chiron. Come on, Percy."

The centaur suddenly sprang out of his wheelchair, the motorized appliance shimmering away. The half-palomino, half-man galloped away. Annabeth lead Percy to a cabin that looked more like an actual summer-camp cabin.

Percy could smell _a lot_ of people in there, a myriad of scents. Suddenly the meat in his bag began to smell really good.

Annabeth opened the door, and the inside was the picture of chaos. Boys and girls were everywhere, far more personnel than what matched the bunks, and sleeping bags were strewn everywhere. The commotion inside halted at the arrival of Percy, and a staring contest ensued. Probably 40 kids of varying ages vs. an S-rated Ghoul whose father was the God of the Sea and mother was a SS-rated Ghoul by the name of 'Death Angel.'

Lol.

"Regular or undetermined?" someone in the back asked.

Percy didn't know what that meant (Artemis probably could've told him some more stuff), but Annabeth took over, "Undetermined."

The demigods groaned.

A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."

The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. One thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.

There was also the vibe he gave off.

Percy was an expert on insane. His mother, his aunt, and his uncles used to be sadistic murderers that frequently engaged in turf warfare and killed more than a few innocents. His grandfather was regarded as the most powerful, bloodthirsty, and ruthless Ghoul on record. His big sister had almost no regard for human life. And there were more than a few disturbed Investigators he had fought. Cough-cough-Mado-cough-cough.

This guy's vibe wasn't grinning-while-killing, but more extremely-radical-revolutionist.

Percy didn't trust him

"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. Percy was pretty sure she had a crush on the guy. She looked over and saw the Ghoul's scrutinizing gaze, and her grey eyes hardened again. "He'll be your councilor, for now."

"For now?"

"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

Percy looked at the small spot that had been given to him, and his eye twitched. It was barely big enough for his bag, and considering that these were the children of the Thief God, the son of Poseidon was _not_ setting his belongings down in here. Discovering his provisions might be able to be played off as steak, but if they touched his mask…never touch a Ghoul's mask, unless you want to die.

"How long will I be in here?" Percy asked, his irritation well-hidden.

"Until you're claimed," Luke said simply.

Percy paused. He threw his bag over to its spot, where it landed with a resounding thump that made several people flinch in surprise. 70-ish-pounds of stuff slamming onto a wooden floor by a person who just threw it like it was a ball made a loud sound. Green eyes rolled into the back of their owner's head in frustration.

Percy wasn't here to be cooped up in an overcrowded tool shed. He wasn't here to be friends with people. He wasn't even here to train to be some demigod. He was here to go find Zeus' Master Bolt and return it to the Sky God, and make his mother proud.

After that, the Kraken really didn't care to ever be back here again.

' _Poseidon, Dad, whatever you want me to call you, if you can actually hear me, do whatever it takes to get me out of this mess ASAP, before I release my kagune and go on a killing spree.'_

"I'm going to go find somewhere to relieve some stress. I've been travelling to get here for a while now, and I want to unwind where there's a bit more silence. Bye," Percy said neutrally. He promptly spun on his heel, froze, and threw over his shoulder, "Since I don't trust any of you not to go through my bag, I'm going to warn you: steal my things and I'll get them back; touch the food inside and you'll regret it; touch my _mask_ -" the sclera of his visible eye flashed back for a microsecond- "and I'll kill you."

With his piece said, Percy headed for the forest where he smelled things that weren't human.

Only for his fast-paced stroll to be interrupted by a bunch of girls in camo jackets, and probably used more steroids than professional athletes.

"Well, what do we have here? A newbie," the one in the front said. Percy's patience was officially reaching its limits. He was sorely disappointed with the camp, the campers, and he was just ready to go back home and see his sister and see his mother and see his uncles and see his aunt and see his grandfather and not be with sentient tissue paper.

"Clarisse!" Annabeth said, running back onto the scene. People were beginning to take notice of the happenings. "Why don't you go sharpen your spear or something?"

"Sure thing, Princess. It'll be easier to run you through with it Friday night," Clarisse sneered.

''Erre es korakas!" Annabeth said, which Percy somehow under-stood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though he had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. She turned toward Percy. "Who's this little runt?"

"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."

"The war god?" Percy was even more unimpressed. A C-class Ghoul could've taken this bitch down, and probably this entire camp.

"Got a problem with that?" Clarisse growled.

"No. It just explains the startling lack of IQ points."

A crowd had gathered now, a small army of teenagers looking to see what Clarisse would do to the newbie. And that last insult probably just nailed the coffin shut on the newbie's life.

Clarisse's eyes flashed red for a second as her anger spiked. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."

" _Percy."_

"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse-" Annabeth tried to say.

"Stay out of it, wise girl."

Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and Percy didn't really need her help. He might not have ever beaten Grandpa, but he was able to last for about ten minutes before the One-Eyed Owl capitalized on one mistake or another.

Clarisse's hand came forward to grab Percy by the throat, but Percy wasn't home right now. See, there was a difference between Percy Jackson, and the Kraken. Percy was a kind-hearted little boy that often brightened the days of people that came into Anteiku with his smile, personality, and the way he and Touka 'argued' between who got to take the orders of whichever customer. However, the Kraken was almost a split personality.

Kraken was the result of the machinations of fighting against Yomo, Enji, Kaya, Yoshimura, and several Investigators. Kraken was silent, fast, and struck with bone-jarring force against any opponent, but just shy of lethality. Kraken had been trained to fight, and if he couldn't beat his adversary, then he was trained to survive them. However, there were only three different units that allotted the latter condition: Owl, Mado, and the SS-Trio.

This little girl wasn't _anywhere near_ those levels.

Percy's hand snapped up just as Clarisse's was about an inch from his throat, and caught the offending limb in a grip similar to have hydraulic presses activate from multiple directions. Percy forced the hand away from his face, the war-daughter's face breaking into one of abject agony.

Clarisse fell to her knees, her other arm trying to pry off the steel claw about to break her bones, only for it to be caught in the newbie's other hand with the same amount of pressure. Her eyes widened in fear at the emotionless green eyes staring down at her.

"This all you got? I'm having to make a conscious effort not to crush your arms like toothpicks. And all of you, aren't you supposed to be her sisters? Well, come help her then."

The other daughters of Ares all screamed before charging. Percy rolled his eyes at the gang charge, and let Clarisse's wrists go in favor of spin-kicking to his left, slamming his right heel into the temple of one girl, the strength behind the kick making her take her siblings on a trip over to the grass about 20 meters away.

The crowd was stunned by the power.

Clarisse whimpered, but the pitiful sound was drowned out by the blood-chilling crack of bone as the Kraken downed her with a punch to the head. None of them were dead, but they did require a great deal of medical attention.

Percy turned his neutral eyes to the gaping crowd of god-children, "Anyone else want to try _initiating_ me?"

No one said anything, but Annabeth had a cunning glint in her eyes.

"Good." Percy disappeared into the monster-stocked woods, hoping to find something to alieve his boredom.

When his Mom said he got rambunctious when he was bored, she didn't mean rowdy, loud, and annoying. She meant that he got the itch to fight something, and the Doves were typically just another ward over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **There's chapter two. The confrontation at Anteiku, introduction of a Huntress OC, building a familial relationship with dear Arty (who's role in this arc is not spent), and throwing some power around at CHB.**_

 _ **In regards to a pairing, it's a tossup between Annie and Hinami, although one person did talk to me about a shota!Eto. Thoughts and suggestions?**_

 _ **Hopefully this was a fast enough update for you people, and it was up to your standards.**_

 _ **As always…Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	3. Kagune Revealed

_Kagune Revealed_

 _ **So, it appears that the people that read this story are a bunch of sick freaks that want a grown woman paired up with a boy half of her age. Meh, I'll see what I can do. I write for the people after all, and the people want Etercy/Perceto.**_

 _ **If anyone's got a better shipping name for Percy and Eto, please let me know.**_

 _ **Who's ready for some CTF, Ghoul-style!? In this chapter, we'll be glossing over the three days between last chapter and now, and engaging in some friendly life-or-death competition. Expect differences, minor and major ones. Spoiler warning: there's going to be more than a hellhound.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Percy Jackson

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy spent a good majority of the rest of the day in the woods, following in the footsteps of his interdimensional sister/gender bent/alternate self, killing just about everything he came across with his bare hands. While he could smell just about every single thing within a mile of himself, he didn't believe for a second that none of those campers didn't have a way to hide themselves, so he refrained from stretching out his kagune.

An additional thing Percy did to alleviate his boredom, was to memorize the terrain. Tree types, bushes, rock formations, caves, where monsters tended to hangout, creeks, everything. If this is where their Capture the Flag game was supposed to take place, Percy wanted to be prepared.

Lesson Number 18 with Uncle Yomo: know the battlefield by heart.

When the aroma of burning crap entered Percy's nose, the Ghoul knew that dinner was about to start. Now, go fake eating human food and puke it up later and draw copious amounts of scrutiny? Or spend the evening here and sneak back into Cabin 11 when night fell and hope no-one touched his stuff?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy only showed up to check on his things. It _appeared_ that everything was where it should be, but these were the children of the Thief God; putting things back the way they found them was probably not a stretch for their abilities. Still, all of his food was where it needed to be, his clothes undisturbed, and his mask untouched.

Luke had found a spare bedroll and had given it to Percy, and the councilor had tried to bond with the Ghoul, but Percy had been taught by his Aunt Kaya how to play nice while completely blowing someone off, so Luke's attempts to make friends were shot down with subtle precision. A conch horn sounded, so the son of Hermes had everyone fall in.

The line was based on seniority, so Percy was at the back. Luke lead everyone to the wall-less, ceiling-less dining pavilion, sat everyone down at a table that was quickly overcrowded (the Kraken had half of his butt hanging off the bench). Chiron pounded his hoof, raised a glass, "To the gods!"

Everyone mimicked the centaur, but Percy raised his goblet and said, "Whatever." He was rather disenchanted with this place and had next to zero respect for just about any of the gods. He was still holding out on his dad, and Artemis was pretty cool, but if Dionysus was the poster-boy, then the Kraken was just fine with never meeting any other divine entities.

Poor, poor boy.

When Percy looked confused at his empty goblet, Luke leaned over and told him that they were magic, and filled up with whatever you said to it, non-alcoholic of course. Percy asked for some of his grandfather's coffee, and the goblet got it perfectly right. He got some strange looks for asking for coffee, but it was one of the only things he could drink without _dying_.

A bunch of inedible food (for Ghouls) appeared on plates, and people threw off some of the best parts into a large brazier in the center of the pavilion. The gods like the smell of burning food, apparently. Percy followed the crowd and scraped a good portion of his 'meal' into the fire.

' _For Artemis and Poseidon…'_

Now this was the perfect opportunity to practice his eating skills. Yoshimura kept saying that the key to being a part of human society was being able to eat like them. So Percy put some food into his mouth, ignored the absolutely revolting taste (and the urge to vomit), swallowed it whole while making chewing sounds.

It seemed to work.

After dinner, everyone went to have a singalong at the campfire, and Percy began to worry for his health. While putting human food in his body wasn't going to immediately kill him, that became a different story once digestion started. Then it became a serious issue.

After the campfire, and everyone went to their cabins for the night, Percy waited until lights were off, before he made a mad-dash for the toilet and puked half of his guts out. Gods, how did humans eat this stuff!? Percy had never eaten crap before, but he had a pretty damn good idea of what it tasted like.

"Percy? You alright in there?"

The Ghoul jumped at the sound of Luke outside the bathroom door, and quickly wiped his mouth clean of his stomach contents, flushed the toilet, and washed his mouth out, before opening the door. The entire Hermes Cabin was staring at him, some with concern, some with interest, and some looked annoyed at being woken up.

"I'm fine," Percy brushed past Luke and flopped down on his bedroll.

The councilor was not convinced, but shrugged and flipped the lights off. Everyone promptly went back to sleep. Percy wasn't hungry, he had eaten about a week ago, but if this damn quest didn't hurry up and get here, the Kraken was going rogue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next two days passed with about as much ease for a full Ghoul as much as you could imagine. Studying Ancient Greek with Annabeth in the morning, something he could actually read. Archery was iffy, sometimes he could hit the target, sometimes a person would be holding their crotch because an arrow had impacted just underneath their reproductive organ. Foot racing had a mind-blowing effect on people, because Percy was easily outstripping the wood nymph instructors who had been outrunning gods for centuries. Wrestling class was…well, when you've fought hand-to-hand with Uncle Yomo for eight years straight, people your size and just a little bigger no longer become much of a challenge.

Canoeing was probably his best subject, but Percy figured that anything water-related was a given for him.

Then it was time for sword lessons with Luke. The Kraken had never held a blade in his life. Swords were one of the primary versions of the Quinque, so Percy held _zero_ interest in sharp murder-weapons. Still, how hard could it have been?

Hold the sword, block the strikes, swing when it looks good, down get cut. Simple and easy.

As it turns out, it was. All Percy had to do was liken the class to a spar with any member of his family, letting his instincts take hold and guide his actions, only his kagune was three feet long and had the flexibility of a dried-up bone. It was amusing watching how the 'best swordsman in 300 hundred years' grew increasingly frustrated by being outwitted, powered, and maneuvered by a twelve-year-old.

Eventually, the excitement waned and Percy got bored. So when Luke went for a thrust at the Ghoul's chest, Percy responded by whipping his sword arm up, and Luke's blade flew so high into the great blue sky that it twinkled before leaving the realm of sight.

That made it official in Percy's mind: this place _sucked_.

He hoped that Capture the Flag would have some kind of redeeming excitement, but he didn't expect much. Math was never really his forte, but he was pretty sure 100x0 was still 0. Regardless, after this game ended, Percy was going to hold Chiron at kagune-point and demand that this quest for the bolt gets underway, or _else_.

Percy was still trying to figure out what 'else' would be. How do you threaten a centuries-old centaur, without bringing innocent lives into the mix?

At dinner that night, Chiron briefly explained the rules, made a bunch of equipment appear on a table, to which Percy hid back and let everyone get whatever they wanted. The Kraken didn't need armor, all he needed was the mask held behind his back.

The Blue Team (Athena, Apollo, and Hermes) marched south, with the Red Team (Ares and every other cabin) marched north. Percy caught up to Annabeth, who was leading the team, and asked her, "What am I supposed to do tonight?"

The daughter of Athena's eyes widened at the lack of armor on her semi-acquaintance's body. "Where the Hades is your armor? You're going to get killed out there!" she said lowly.

"Trust me, I won't need armor. Now what do you want me to do?" If she couldn't give him a straight-damn answer, he was going to screw everybody over and carve a path right for the enemy flag, regardless of where it was. If he had to knockout everyone between Point A and Point B, then that was just fine. The biggest problem would be the traps, but Percy was confident in his speed and reflexes to get him through safely.

It wasn't like he was here to hide his powers, but he did understand that some unknown demigod sprouting tentacles from his back, and his eyes turning black, would bring about some serious hostility and cold shoulders.

"You're going to be with the main assault group," Annabeth said.

Well now, that made things easier.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone looked at Percy strangely, but could you blame them? The newbie, who had some freaky speed and strength, was armorless and weaponless, aside from the weird mask he was wearing. The eyeholes had been designed in a way that you couldn't even see the kid's eyes.

It was unnerving, but Annabeth had decided to put him on the frontlines for a reason, and the girl had yet to make a bad plan, so why question her now?

When the conch horn sounded, Percy gave up all thoughts of playing nice. Lesson Number 5 with Uncle Yomo: never go easy on your opponent, regardless of age, gender, or disability. The Ghoul blurred forward, kicking up dust and water as he zoomed over the creek; he felt a small boost in power when he touched the water, and his senses were enhanced suddenly.

He could smell the presences of the approaching wave of enemy demigods, and he could also smell a small gathering further to the northeast, as well as several traps. This was going to be easy.

The Kraken was on the enemy before they registered his approach. Their surprise cost them, and three girls were downed with dents in their armor. Percy didn't even bother to engage the rest, even as they drew weapons against him, he just made a beeline for where he could smell that gathering.

He activated a tripwire, and strafed to the side to avoid the falling net. He passed some kind of motion sensor, and narrowly avoided the grenades that were filled with some kind of gas; it smelled terrible. Upon seeing a strange bit of grass up ahead, along with the smell of overturned dirt, Percy leapt high, easily clearing the pitfall.

Was this supposed to be difficult?

Percy stopped his one-man mission just before he got to the clearing where the flag was. Four hostiles, all armed. It was Clarisse and her three sisters from Wednesday. The red flag was perched on top of a mound of rocks that resembled one big pile of shit, but Percy had heard that it was called Zeus' Fist…for some reason.

There didn't seem to be any hidden surprises, but that didn't mean that there wasn't any. It was a little surprising that the daughters of Ares weren't out there on the front, but perhaps they were just scared of facing him again.

Too bad that they chose guard duty.

The Kraken rocketed forward with blinding speed, punched one in the gut hard enough to send her skidding across the dirt into a tree, kicked another in the head, also sending her into a tree. The third finally reacted and charged at him with a scream, because that worked so well last time.

Percy dropped low, swiped his lag and knocked the girl off of her feet, continued his spin and popped back up with his hand clamping around the airborne daughter of Ares' throat, and slammed her into the ground, knocking her out.

Clarisse trembled in fear behind the Kraken, and even her electric spear didn't give the girl the confidence to fight head-on.

Percy ascended the rocks unopposed, but he did tilt his head to the side in order to dodge the thrown spear, much to Clarisse's surprise. He grabbed to red flag, and the appeared in front of the last girl standing, and whacked her in the head with the flagpole, rendering her from her consciousness.

That was remarkably unsatisfying.

C-Class Ghouls were better than that.

But, oh well. Percy had the flag, the sounds of battle were still far off, and there were no approaching scents, so…bye. The Ghoul took off back into the woods, being extremely careful to avoid any more traps and even battles. He took a wide route around the forest, so opposition was minimal. He reached the creek, the boundary line, without _anyone_ seeing him. Percy blinked, was it really that easy?

Cautiously, with senses on high alert, the Kraken crossed the creek to the other side. Nothing happened besides a conch horn being blown, and the flag turning to silver with the Hermes Cabin symbol replacing the boar and spear.

Chiron cantered out of the woods with his conch, and the demigods following behind him confusedly. The Red Team dropped their weapons in shock, and the Blue Team finally realized that they had won, and exploded into cheering, not caring that the n00b with the creepy mask had done what none of them did, just happy that they now had the laurels.

Cheering abruptly turned into gasps, and everyone's gaze was directed to above Percy's head. He looked up, and breathed a silent sigh of relief. Floating above him was a holographic trident, colored green. Poseidon had finally come through. The Kraken gave a prayer of thanks to his dad, and a warm sea-breeze gently nudged past.

"It is determined," Chiron announced. Camper from all cabins began to kneel. "Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

Then the shadows exploded.

Legions of truck-sized hellhounds burst forward, forming a snarling barrier between the demigods and Percy. Also from out of the shadows, three bat-like shapes streaked out, and the Ghoul was caught off-guard by the fiery whip that split his torso open from right hip to left shoulder, and sent him sailing backward, crashing into the creek.

"ALECTO!" Chiron roared, keeping a wary eye on the snarling beasts in front of him. "What are you doing here!?"

The Fury grinned, showing off her serrated yellow teeth, "Isn't it obvious? We're fulfilling Lord Hades' wish of killing the sea-spawn, just as we did to the sky-spawn so many years ago. And after we're done with the boy, we'll be heading after his family as well. Lord Hades feels particularly slighted by Poseidon this day, and his thirst for vengeance is great."

Percy's regeneration kicked in as soon as he landed in the water, and it was boosted by the liquid, giving the Kraken a boost in power. He heard everything the Fury had said, and his kakugan flared beneath his mask. He stood up slowly, and to the onlookers, two green lights were shining in his eyes.

Chiron and the campers could only stand helpless as the newest addition to their camp stood alone against some of the most powerful monsters in history. They couldn't do anything to help, because of the convoy of hellhounds just waiting for the signal to attack.

There was a loud mooing sound, accompanied by the sound of crashing trees, until the Minotaur himself burst onto the scene. Alecto's grin widened, "Lord Hades felt that extra dash of 'hopeless' was needed for this event."

Percy turned his attention to the bull-man, his body language belaying nothing to the audience. Those bat-things had threatened his family, and they brought a small army to aid them, but it was pointless. For their crime, they would all _die_.

The Minotaur roared, before getting down on all-fours and charging. The campers screamed and yelled at the Ghoul to move, but he wasn't listening. An animal was hardly a threat.

Percy crouched low and bowed his head. His orange camp shirt lifted, and the demigods and Chiron watched in morbid fascination as the exposed skin turned pitch-black, before two black-and-green tentacles burst out and climbed upward, before curving sharply to the ground. The Minotaur's charge was brought to an abrupt halt, because he suddenly had two appendages piercing his heart and liver.

The monster dissolved into golden dust, its horns splashing into the river.

Masked face was slowly raised up to face stunned Furies as tentacles were retracted. If this was the extent of the monsters' power, then this was going to be _easy_. Which was good, because the Kraken didn't plan on letting any of these creatures live.

" **That all you've got? I thought you were supposed to be trying to kill me."**

Percy's voice was distorted by his mask, but his taunt had the desired effect. The Furies screeched, one diving to the left, one dove to the right, and the third dove straight forward. The Kraken zoomed forward, kicking up a rooster-tail of water. His right tentacle snapped out, and obliterated the Fury, and his left tentacle did the same to the other Fury. His tentacles then snapped down and propelled him upwards.

He flipped forward, grabbed the remaining Fury's head—Alecto if he remembered correctly—and launched the ugly bat-lady through a tree, where she slammed into a second with enough force to crack every bone in her back and shatter the bark.

The Kraken stalked forward, his tentacles splayed out. Alecto trembled in terror, primal fear tearing through her heart as she was pinned in place by those glowing dots suspended in pools of darkness. She could hardly move, her sisters had been taken down like newborns, and the hellhounds were getting anxious-the hellhounds!

Alecto let loose a shrill whistle, and the monstrous dogs responded by abandoning their wall in front of the demigods in favor of attacking the Kraken. The demigods were still too stunned and horrified to do anything.

Percy blurred away, coming back into focus next to the outermost hellhound on the far side, then the carnage began. The hellhound was sliced in two, the three that changed direction were speared through the heart by a single tentacle, and Percy was gone again.

Something slammed down right in the middle of the large pack, and a streak of black with highlights of green began to violently spilt the dogs apart like paper. Percy spun around wildly, his tentacles turning into a vortex of death as he dashed through the ranks, golden dust flying everywhere. A hellhound leapt at the Ghoul from behind, but a third tentacle shot out and pierced the beast through the face.

Kraken jumped, letting loose a fourth tentacle, before curling into a ball, with his tentacles slamming into the ground hard enough to kick up a massive cloud of dust. Only a handful of hellhounds remained, and all of these had learned that they were all about to die if they didn't run for the hills.

Unfortunately, the Kraken was not in a sparing mood. He appeared in front of the fleeing pack, and his tentacles shot forward, killing four hounds instantly. Only five left. One leapt from the side, but Kraken caught it by the throat, and casually snapped its neck with a squeeze.

Kraken leaned to the side and stepped forward, avoiding the gaping maw, while also splitting the hellhound in two. Three more hounds now. Kraken stared at them form behind his mask with a dispassionate gaze. The hounds whimpered, before growling and running forward across the water.

Kraken jumped straight up just as the hounds were a few feet in front of him, merged his tentacles together into one big one, before he did a mid-air, 360-degree twist. His tentacle carved through water, dirt, rock, and hellhound flesh like a laser through butter.

He landed among dust-filled water with a splash. Alecto balked, and suddenly the object of her terror was about two feet in front of her downed body. Horrified and stunned, she stuttered, "W-what are y-you?"

Kraken was silent, before he slowly reached up, and quietly removed his mask. Alecto screamed at the sight of those black-and-green orbs, veins pulsing through the sclera into the skin. A crackling sound was heard as the tentacles were raised. "I'm an apex predator."

The Percy _punched_ through Alecto's skull, and the tree with a single jab.

The last Fury exploded into dust as the tree collapsed from having no more trunk to keep it standing upright.

Percy stood there for a while, reviewing what had just happened. He had just slaughtered a small army of truck-sized dogs without a scratch, and he had just easily murdered four of the most infamous monsters in Greek Myth…and his breathing was still even. That was just sad.

Percy retracted his kagune, the tentacles receding into his back as the RC cells were brought into his kakuhou and redistributed throughout his body. He glanced at the campers, and they all stepped back or flinched at the sight of his kakugan.

He waded through the water, retrieved the Minotaur horns, his spoils of war, and waded back to shore, his clothes completely dry. The demigods al scrambled out of the twelve-year-old's way, the stench of fear thick in the air.

Percy idly wondered about something as kicked open the door to Cabin 3 and threw his new horns onto one of the beds, before going to Cabin 11 and gathering up his bag. If the supposedly most powerful monsters were that _weak_ …

Then how strong were the gods?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **So, there's Percy's first few days at camp, the titular CTF scene his done and over with, and the Ghoul has shown off his power, or at least, some of it. He still had eight more tentacles to go. And no, it wasn't the water giving him a power boost that let him do everything that he did. Percy could've just as easily killed all of those monsters without water.**_

 _ **Next chapter is the beginning of the quest, and while Annabeth will be going, I haven't got a clue as to who the third member should be. Should there be a third member? Should I shoe-in Grover at the last second? Or should I bring Touka in from Japan?**_

 _ **Give your suggestions in the review section, and don't forget to Fav/Follow if you like the chapter!**_


	4. Overinquisitive Girl

_Overinquisitive Girl_

 _ **Alrighty, since almost everyone wanted Touka, I shall give you Touka. On a side note, the Lightning Thief story arc takes place a year before Tokyo Ghoul's canon, so don't expect Kaneki to pop in anytime soon.**_

 _ **With that out of the way, I give you the next chapter in the saga of Green-Eyed Ghoul.**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy's eyes opened blearily. That was one weird dream. A horse fighting an eagle, some creepy voice telling him to 'come down' and calling him a 'hero.' Percy would openly admit to being many things, but hero was not one of them. He ate people, for God's sake. He ruined families by consuming fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Sure he knew he couldn't help it, sure his Ghoul-ology gave him the benefit of not caring about who he killed (on some level), but he still destroyed the livelihoods of many people.

That was why Anteiku made it a point to collect bodies from the suicide spot. Less guilt.

His mind functioning more properly now, Percy began to think about what had happened, and what this day was going to be like. He had revealed his kagune and his kakugan, not like any person here knew what those were, unless they somehow had access to Japanese media that wasn't censored. The campers would either clap him on the back and thank him for saving them all from the monsters, or they would all scramble away at the mere sight of him.

Probably the latter.

Percy was also now the head councilor of Cabin 3. That meant he could wake up and go to sleep whenever he wished, he could pick his own activities for the week unopposed, sit at his own table, and being councilor gave him a small bit of political power.

Good. It'll make getting this damn quest started and over with that much easier.

The familiar scent of Annabeth Chase entered Percy's nose, and the son of Poseidon wondered why she was about to knock on his door. BANG BANG BANG. Whoops, did he say _knock?_ He meant vigorously _bang_. When the Ghoul didn't immediately get up to open the door, Annabeth began to bang faster and harder…that sounds wrong.

Percy made an annoyed sound, before dragging himself out of his tangled mess of a blanket, the warm material unintentionally wrapping around him like a prom dress. He opened the door, his eyes half-lidded. "Can I help you with something?"

Annabeth raised a brow, "No, but I know some guys looking for a prom date." Percy didn't laugh. "Right, Chiron wants to see you at the Big House, like, right now."

"Uh-huh." Percy slammed the door in the girl's face, making her growl.

The Ghoul untangled himself and quickly threw on some clothes that were laying on top in the bag. Black capris, black shoes, an orange camp t-shirt for the hell of it, and a black hoodie. Huh, this was his hunting outfit. Did Touka pack it on top for a reason, or was it just happenstance?

Percy didn't dwell on it too long. He opened the cabin door just in time for Annabeth's raised fist, intended for door-banging, to slam down upon his nose. Annabeth recoiled, holding her throbbing hand, and Percy blew air out his nostrils, trying to ignore the burning/inflamed sensation of whenever your nose gets hit. That was _always_ an unpleasant feeling.

"Gods, what is wrong with your skin!? That felt like I just punched a brick wall!" Annabeth gasped out.

Percy's eye twitched, his regeneration finally getting his nose back together. "Maybe if you had some damn patience instead of banging on my cabin door, you wouldn't be having that problem, now would you?"

"And maybe if you didn't take so long to put some clothes on, I wouldn't have to keep banging on your cabin door, now would I?"

"Maybe if you got the hell out of my way, we could get to Chiron a bit faster, now wouldn't we?"

Percy didn't give the annoying girl time to respond as he brushed past her, and made a beeline from his cabin to the Big House. Annabeth caught up with a scowl on her face, "You didn't answer my question. Why is your skin so hard? Come to think of it, what happened to your eyes? Why are you so fast? Why are you so strong? What were those tentacles that came out of your back?"

"None of your business. Bye." Percy poured on the speed and tore away from the daughter of Athena, appearing on the Big House porch.

Annabeth's jaw dropped, before her face morphed into a deep scowl. That boy…no, that _thing._ There was no way Perseus Jackson was human, even by demigod standards. Those black eyes with the veins, those tentacles, how he massacred an army of monsters that had been too much for Thalia. Annabeth would get to the bottom of this, one way or the other.

There was no way a monster like that was here to save the world.

Percy happened upon a game of pinochle, Chiron winning, Dionysus drinking Diet Coke, and a couple of invisible opponents making it appear that cards were just floating in the air.

"Well, well, if it isn't our little Ghoul," Dionysus drawled. "Don't be so surprised, brat. You're little display last night has got Olympus in a frenzy, and Athena made it her personal mission to find out everything about you and your… _species_. If I had my way, I'd make all of your molecules erupt into flames, but Chiron seems to feel that this would be against my mission at this camp: keeping little brats like you safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion is a form a harm, Mr. D."

"Nonsense, Chiron; boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've decided to turn you into a dolphin and send you back to your father."

"Try it, and we'll see how good the gods are at fighting."

Dionysus took a swig from his Coke. "Oh-ho-ho. Quite the set you have there, boy. Maybe I should rearrange your genetic code a little, mix and match your penis with a vagina, create a new gender, and then curse you to be forever chased by some horny creature."

Thunder boomed as lighting lit up the early morning sky.

"Oh, come now. I was only joking. Anyways, I'm off for an emergency meeting with my esteemed family, and there's another route you can take boy, but it's deadly foolish." Dionysus stood, and floating cards collapsed to the table. "If you're still here when I get back, Perry, I'll turn you into an Atlantic bottlenose."

Threat delivered, the God of Madness became transparent before fading away altogether, teleporting his essence to Olympus.

Chiron sighed, "Please, have a seat."

Percy sat down.

"May I inquire as to where Annabeth is?"

"She got annoying, asking a bunch of questions, so I left her behind."

"Ah, I see. You must forgive her curiosity. As far as children of Athena go, she is one of the more suspicious, and vocal of her opinions. I have no doubt she'll pester you until you answer her questions, and the longer you rightfully keep your secrets, the more hostile she'll become. She may do something rash, and all I ask is that you be patient with her."

"Right, when she learns how to ask nicely instead of demanding, I might talk to her. Until then, she's just going to have to learn how to shut up. Anyway, she said you wanted to see me?"

Chiron nodded. "I trust you know what all of this commotion has been about?"

"Zeus' magic firecracker was stolen and he blames me for it, even though I've been living in Tokyo my entire life and have never had any interaction with any divine entity or creature since I was four and a hellhound tried to eat me? Yeah, I know what all of this commotion is about."

Chiron blinked. "When you put it that way, it does make sense that you're not the thief."

"Uh-huh. Let's fix this problem right now, shall we?" Percy leaned back in his chair, so that his head peeked out from beneath the deck roof. The sky looked remarkably dark. "I swear on the River Styx that I didn't steal the Master Bolt."

Thunder boomed, signifying the sealing of the oath. The Kraken remained perfectly unharmed.

He let his chair fall back into place, and smirked at the complete and utter look of loss on Chiron's face. A question now hung in the air: what now? Percy had just proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he wasn't the Lightning Thief, and the centaur was pretty sure that every Olympian had been watching him make the oath.

Just then, there was a pop, and a letter fell onto the table.

Chiron picked it up, sniffed it cautiously, ran his finger along the seal, pulled out the paper inside, skimmed over it, rubbed his forehead with a tired look on his face, before he handed the letter to Percy. It read:

 _Don't care if you're not the Thief. Bring me my bolt, or I'm starting World War 3._

 _-Zeus, Lord of the Sky, King of Olympus, God of Honor, Justice, Rain, and Lightning, Imprisoner of Typhon, Husband of Hera, Father of_ (a whole lot of people), _and Rhea's Favorite Son_

Percy looked back up at Chiron, "Is he being serious?"

"Yes, yes he is. I trust that you've accepted your quest, but in order to officially start it, you must consult the Oracle in the attic."

"Sweet. Bye." Percy was gone in a blur, and Chiron jumped when the door to the Big House was busted down. "Sorry!" The centaur sighed and rubbed his temples. Out of all the heroes he had trained, none of them were this rambunctious, not even _Heracles_ was this much of a handful. It was almost like that child lived on caffeine…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The attic was full of a bunch of attic-y stuff. Souvenirs, stuffed heads, trinkets, knickknacks, jars of pickled monster organs, and a mummy dressed like she was from the era of hippies.

Percy approached what he assumed was the Oracle, and asked, "Where the hell is the Master Bolt?"

The mummy's eyes glowed green, and green mist poured out of its shriveled mouth. The mist swirled around the attic, obscuring everything in sight. When the mist cleared, Percy was standing in Anteiku, but he could tell that it wasn't _the_ Anteiku.

He couldn't smell any coffee.

Yoshimura and Uncle Enji were cleaning glasses, while Aunt Kaya and Sally were wiping down tables. Percy's heart ached at seeing his family, and knowing that it wasn't his actual family. But, where was Touka?

Suddenly, everyone's eyes started to glow pure green.

" _You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,"_ Yoshimura rasped in a feminine, snake-like voice.

" _You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,"_ Enji said in the same way.

" _The third member, to be found on the hill,"_ Kaya rasped.

" _A choice to make, to spare or to kill,"_ Sally finished.

The everything exploded back into green mist, which was quickly sucked back into the Oracle. Percy blinked. That was…a remarkably easygoing-sounding prophecy. Where was he going? To the west. Would he succeed? Apparently so. Who were the members of the quest? Himself, probably Annabeth—her brain had to be good for something—and the third person was going to be on a hill. And he was going to have the choice of killing someone of letting them live.

Percy didn't dwell on that last line for too long; if there was one thing about Greek myths that the Kraken knew for sure, it was that everything always worked itself out in the end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What did the Oracle say, Percy?" Chiron asked. The Ghoul shrugged and recited the lines that had been told to him. When he finished, the centaur looked equal parts relieved and worried. "It's good that you will succeed, and the third member of the quest will be decided on its own, but the god who has turned, and the choice of either taking a life, or not…that is what worries me."

"Any ideas on who the god who has turned might be?"

"Come now, my boy, surely you can tell me that."

Percy rolled his eyes, "Hades. God of the Underworld."

The centaur nodded, "Yes, and, following the tradition of things moving west, the entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles, California."

"Thanks, but I've heard that LA is a _really_ big place, so could you be a little more specific?"

"DOA Recording Studios." What? This was a matter of war, and saving the lives of billions. This was not the time to play teacher, or be as vague as possible in the hopes that Percy would find the answers for himself. For the sake of civilization, Chiron was more than happy to give directions to the Underworld.

"Great. So we go west to Los Angeles, find the Underworld entrance, confront my uncle, get the bolt back, and make it to Olympus just in time to prevent global war? Sounds like a plan."

"Indeed. Who will your first companion be, seeing as the third will be found 'on the hill'?"

Percy's kagune flicked out, and knocked the magic hat off of Annabeth's head, revealing the surprised daughter of Athena. "How did you-?"

"I could smell you, smart one. Your hat might make you invisible, but it doesn't hide your scent."

Annabeth's grey eyes narrowed, "Yeah? And what kind of half-blood can smell another? That's something only monsters can do."

Percy shrugged. "Well, smelling someone who has never heard of a shower, nor can wipe their butt properly, isn't very difficult." Annabeth's cheeks flushed at the jab to her hygiene. She didn't have time to take a shower last night, but she was about to this morning, and she was a girl.

Girls don't poop.

"Do you want to join me on this quest or not?"

"Of course I'm joining you on this quest. I don't trust you not to do anything stupid when you get the Bolt, so I'll be making sure you don't try to take over the world, freak," Annabeth said with absolutely zero regard for comradery.

Percy sighed, suddenly looking more like an old man than a child. So, even among demigods Ghouls were considered untrustworthy monsters. It was times like this where the Kraken could understand why Ayato hated humans. The struggle of trying to fit in, and become something they're not, just for people to still spit at them, and call them names. It was such an unrewarding lifestyle, most of the time.

As Chiron berated Annabeth, a very familiar scent hit Percy's nose like a freight train. It couldn't be, she was supposed to be in Japan, and she didn't just faze into his olfactory range, she just popped right in. But there was no mistaking that scent.

Percy's face lit up in absolute joy, and the other two in the room blinked at the sudden change in the boy's downtrodden demeanor. Without a word, Percy streaked out the Big House, easily ignored the light rain, and barreled straight up _the hill_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, in the Land of the Rising Sun_

Touka, still asleep because her shift didn't start for another two hours, was suddenly pulled into a dream. The Rabbit found herself in a black void, with mist covering the floor. She raised a brow, wondering what the fuck was going on, when she heard a triple-layered cough from behind her.

Touka leapt forward and spun in midair, releasing her kagune, firing a torrent of spikes at the sound.

The cough came from three old ladies, knitting a really big pair of socks. Touka's spikes flew straight through them as if they weren't even there. Trippy.

"Do you want to help Percy, child?" One of them asked.

Touka blinked, surprised by the question coming from a complete stranger that somehow knew about her little brother. Regardless, her answer was as positive as you would expect. "Fuck yeah I do! What the hell kind of question is that anyway? Why would I not want to help my little bro, when he's off God-knows-where, doing God-knows-what, with God-knows-who?"

The old ladies grinned, "Excellent."

The mist surged up and blinded the Ghoul, but her senses went haywire because she noticed some distinct differences. One, she couldn't smell coffee. Two, her nose was filled with the scent of grass, dirt, trees, and rain. Three, she was somehow wearing her casual clothes. And four, Percy was sprintingrightather-!

"TOUKA!"

"Oh sh-oof!"

A black missile slammed into the Ghoul with all the force of a destroyer battery. Touka cracked the ground where she impacted, and she put on a strained smile at seeing her little brother again. The brat was grinning broadly at her, his smile so wide it forced his eyes shut. His arms and legs had wrapped around her like a boa constrictor, and that was why her smile was strained.

Touka was pretty sure the spider-monkey clinging to her was about to crush her spine. She activated her kakugan, causing her RC cells to become active in her body. There, now the pressure was barely noticeable. She sat up, Percy still clinging tightly to her, before standing on her feet. Little brat was still squeezing.

Touka rubbed her brother's hair. "I guess you didn't miss me at all then, huh?"

Percy just lightly nipped at his sister's neck, and she nipped him back. It was their special way of saying hi to each other. Not nearly hard enough to break skin, but just enough to feel it. Percy squeezed just a little tighter, before dropping back to the ground, a smaller smile on his face.

"You're just in time. We're about to start the quest for the Master Bolt."

"The _what_?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Touka stared at Annabeth.

Annabeth stared at Touka.

Percy felt like a cat fight between a saber-toothed tiger and a kitten was going to break out.

Chiron was mentally writing an obituary for his favorite student.

"So you're a Ghoul, like Percy?"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

"Yes. I don't trust you not to _eat me_ in my sleep."

"Psh, why would I bother trying to digest your little ass? You don't even smell good; you smell like musty old books and owl shit."

"Grrrrr…well, you smell like rotten monster!"

"You are what you eat, _human_."

"I'm not human, I'm a demigod."

"Right, because demigods have _such_ a positive history of not tricking and betraying others for their own benefit."

"Hey-!"

" _If you two are finished_ ," Chiron cut in sharply, "there's an all-powerful weapon that's been stolen, and war on the horizon that can only be prevented by you three. Yes, Ms. Kirishima has to come, it was foretold in the prophecy. No, Annabeth, you don't have to go; it's up to Percy since he's the leader."

"That big brain of hers has to be useful, right? Besides, you wanted to go on this quest."

"Not on a quest with a bunch of monsters!"

Chiron sighed, Percy frowned, and Touka's hand slammed down on top of the shorter girl's head with enough force that Annabeth accidentally bit her tongue. "After I'm done with you, you're going to have to pick which _asshole_ you want to _shit_ out of, princess."

The daughter of Athena whipped her dagger from her shirt-sleeve, but Touka had already leapt back. Before Annabeth could reset, she took a light kick to the gut, and she slammed into the wall behind her. She struggled to raise back up, desperately keeping calm as her mind and body registered the sudden lack of breathing ability as her diaphragm was locked in place. What she saw almost made her pee herself.

Touka was stalking forward, kakugan blazing. Her eye was red, as opposed to Percy's green. Were every Ghoul's eyes a different color? Behind Touka, a raging inferno of blood began to spread out, taking the form of a writhing, fluctuating wing.

"So," the Ghoul started. "You know what it feels like to have shit slide out of your ass, right? Of course you do, you're human. See, we Ghouls have a slow metabolism; we can eat about once a month before becoming hungry again, and we mostly burn everything we put in our bodies. Because of that, we might only have to shit about once every six months, maybe even longer, but I'm getting off topic here." A stream of electricity traveled up the wing, turning it into a crystalized death-herald. "I'm going to introduce you to what it feels like to have something slide _up_ your ass, princess, so prepare your anus."

Annabeth sat frozen, her body paralyzed with a primal fear she hadn't felt since her first encounter with a cyclops. The crystal wing raised, and the demigod screamed as she braced for impact. It never came. A grey eye cracked open, to see a red point probably an inch away from it. Annabeth opened both of her eyes, and saw that only reason she was still alive was because Percy had buried his head in Touka's side, his arms wrapped tightly around the Ghoul's midsection.

"Please don't kill her, Touka," Percy mumbled quietly. "She just doesn't know enough about us yet. We can show her we're not monsters, just let her come with us, please?"

Touka valiantly tried not to look down, but a quick glance down-just a _glance_ -was enough to shatter her refusal. How could she possibly say no to her brother's puppy-dog eyes? God, she swore that she had a little sister more times than a brother; there was no way a boy could pull-off looking so damn cute by making his eyes big and watery.

The Rabbit sighed and let her kagune revert to its maneuverable form before drawing it back into her upper shoulders. Her kakugan deactivated, and she glowered down at the trembling Annabeth. "You're lucky my little bro has more of heart than I do, bitch. If he wasn't here, I'd be sampling your entrails right now."

Chiron coughed, having no idea how to handle this situation so he just let it play out (it was rather heartwarming to see such a strong sibling bond), but now it was time to get back to business…and probably get a new set of close for Annabeth.

"Now that we've all calmed down; I believe we can begin packing for the quest."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **And now we have all the pieces in place for the beginning of the quest. Percy cleared his name in the most logical fashion possible, Touka was brought in due to the power of divine intervention, and Annabeth's going to be picking her words very carefully from now on.**_

 _ **Nothing like a little near-death experience to keep the troops in line, eh?**_

 _ **Sorry for the shorter-than-usual chapters, but I'm just covering everything I want to for a specific chapter, so deal with it. You can also deal with some much less drama-infused canon, but you can really expect that just about every single one of my stories, now can't y'all? Gotta love OP/Strong Percys, amiright?**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review Please!**_


	5. Of Gorgons and Arches

_Of Gorgons and Arches_

 _ **Still going strong with the positive reviews, excellent. Not much to say up here other than to expect a bunch of suspense in the Lightning Thief to be chopped down into near-comical segments.**_

 _ **Other than that, standard disclaimer applies**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The quest was going great so far.

Touka had just hung out in the Big House while Percy and Annabeth packed some clothes, Chiron gave the trio a bag filled with money and supplies, also a pen to Percy, saying it was a 'powerful weapon,' and Argus the Head of Security had taken them all to a bus station in Manhattan, where they were currently waiting. Not a monster to be found, and the mortals paid as much attention to a group of teenagers as they did to everyone else. Luke did try to give the quest some flying shoes, and balked at the sight of Touka.

The quest didn't even _need_ flying shoes.

The bus pulled up, just as it started to rain. Touka scowled as her senses began to dull, but Percy never had that problem. In fact, whenever it rained in Tokyo, his senses were boosted. Probably because of his connection to water. Anyway, it was his boosted sense of smell that picked up the subtle aroma of three non-humans. In fact, the faint scents were eerily similar to those of the Furies.

After finding their seats, with Annabeth by the window, Percy in the middle, and Touka on the outside, the Kraken asked the demigoddess, "Can monsters…reform after a while?"

Annabeth looked at him, "Yes. It can take anywhere from a few hours to possibly even decades, but all monsters will reform because they don't have souls. We can kill them, and send their essences back to Tartarus, but they can't ever _die_."

"Cool, that explains why the Furies are disguised as the old ladies up front, then."

Annabeth paled considerably. "Oh gods. It was one thing to fight them at camp, but it's entirely different out here in public with all of these mortals around."

"I thought the Mist would keep us hidden?"

"It doesn't keep us hidden as in completely inconspicuous. It keeps us hidden by bending the minds of mortals. Instead of seeing you fight the Kindly Ones with your freaky tentacles, they'd probably see a young kid _gun down_ a bunch of harmless old women, granting us all national attention as murderers. Damn it; because they're monsters, they don't have to worry about public spotlight, and if things get too hot for them, they can just go back to the Underworld."

"I thought you _could_ manipulate the Mist to your benefit, though?"

"Yeah, but not on a scale this large. There got to be over fifty people on this bus!" Annabeth whisper-shouted.

"Oh for the love of God, will you two give it a rest with all the keep-hidden stuff? We're a couple of Ghouls and a demigod on a mission to save the world. We're bound to run into a bunch of monsters and obstacles. What's the point of staying anonymous now?" Touka sighed.

The bus entered the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Furies announced that they all needed to use the restroom. As they walked down the aisle, Touka casually slipped into a seat a few rows ahead, with her left shoulder exposed. The Furies wrinkled their noses as they passed the Ghoul, but did nothing else.

Their mistake.

In the low-light of the Lincoln Tunnel, and the sound of roaring cars echoing around the concrete, the Rabbit struck swiftly and silently, her years of hunting prey making her task an easy one. A sliver of her kagune slipped out, and she fired off several spikes in rapid succession. Maybe it was luck, or maybe you didn't need godly metals to kill monsters, because the Furies didn't even know what hit them as they exploded into golden dust.

90% of the people on the bus either had earphones blaring, their noses deep into some kind of reading material, were sleeping, or staring out the windows, so they didn't notice as the three old ladies suddenly disappeared, but those that did see were luckily all in one convenient location. They almost opened their moths to scream, but Perseus moved with startling speed and knocked them all out with a few love taps to their heads.

The bus exited the Lincoln Tunnel without anyone being the wiser of the silent battle they just missed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bus ride would've been perfectly after that, if not for the damn thing suddenly being flipped into the air. In a moment of hyper-cognitive vision, Percy saw a massive, jagged stone had shot up from the asphalt right into the bus's ass, which sent the poor vehicle flipping end-over-end before slamming back down on its wheels, the force of which blew out the tires.

Because of the lack of seatbelts, people had went flying across the interior, slamming against hard surfaces. Percy and Touka were just fine, Annabeth was hyperventilating, and more than a few people were either unconscious or dead. The wind shield was missing, so the whereabouts of the driver was anyone's guess.

Then everything began shaking, and Percy instinctively recognized the earthquake. He grabbed the shocked Annabeth, and Touka didn't need to be told anything, she just grabbed the bags and sprinted after her brother. The trio made it off the bus just in time to watch it fall into a very large crevice that lead to a…was that a pit of lava?

HISCH!

Well the bus was burning and melting, along with the people inside, so yes, yes it was a pit of lava.

Touka whistled, "Damn. I know being eaten isn't the best way to go, but shit. I think it's better than being roasted like that. At least by being eaten, your family will still have something left to burry, but that? That's just cruel."

"You people have the most screwed up heads," Annabeth mumbled, finally regaining her senses.

"Not our fault. We need to eat humans to live, just as you need to eat plants and animals. It helps with our psyche just a bit if we view our food as just that: food." Touka said dully. Why was this kid here again? Oh right, because Percy thinks she might be useful, and he wants to prove to the brat that Ghouls aren't monsters…Touka wasn't buying that shit; Percy had some other reason for bringing the girl.

Crush maybe? Oh hell to the naw. Touka wasn't tolerating no puppy-love crush, especially one for a human. Perhaps it was food? Touka was curious as to what demigod tasted like…huh, maybe she did have a screwed up head.

The ground began shaking again, and the crevice began to widen, reaching out to the quest members. Touka effortlessly leapt over the boiling pit of hot death, and Percy grabbed Annabeth before doing the same. The blonde squealed as she was basically flown through the air.

The chunk of earth that Percy landed on cracked and began to fall. Touka zoomed forward and grabbed her brother, pulling him to safety, but the sudden changes in momentum and kinetic energy made Percy _let go_ of Annabeth. The daughter of Athena screamed bloody murder as she fell to her death.

Just kidding. Percy's kagune whipped out and down, wrapping around Annabeth's waist and jerking her sharply up to safety. The shaking and cracking stopped suddenly, a sea-green glow spreading over the land, before the ground seemingly sewed itself back together. The Kraken offered a silent prayer of thanks to his father, the Earthshaker.

"Alright. That was weird. What now?" Touka asked.

Percy shrugged, "We keep heading west. We're bound to find some other car or something we can take to Los Angeles."

Annabeth was shaking like a leaf, and it wasn't because of the rain.

The trio walked through the dark woods, Annabeth tripping and stumbling over one thing or another, while Percy and Touka used their other senses to navigate through the trees. They were predators; they had to be able to hunt in the dark, and Uncle Yomo was a big fan of 'blind stalking.'

They were experienced in not using their eyes…

Eventually a scent was detected. To Annabeth, it was the scent of America: french-fries, hamburgers, and other greasy edibles. To Percy and Touka, it smelled like decaying ass. A neon sign could be seen in the distance, and to Annabeth it meant food, and to Percy and Touka it meant civilization which meant motorized transport.

Exiting the woods, the trio found a deserted two-lane highway, an old movie advertisement billboard, and a single business with the lights on. Percy still had dyslexia, as did Annabeth, but his was more toned down. It had to be, because he had to write down orders. Still, that wasn't to say he could read neon-red English cursive.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," Touka said. She was bilingual, knowing both English and Japanese.

It was still raining, so Touka didn't smell what Percy did. He smelled non-human again. Not like the Furies, but similar. It actually smelled oddly enough like snakes. He had been to the zoo with his mother once, in Tokyo, so he _did_ know what snake smelt like.

Regardless, Annabeth needed to eat something, and Percy wasn't going to make her starve just to get this quest over with quicker. With those thoughts in mind, the quest entered the Garden Gnome Emporium.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Upon opening the warehouse door of the Emporium, the trio came face-to-face with a Middle Eastern-ish woman clad in a black gown and head wrap, with only her hands exposed. The woman said something, but Percy was now deciding on how best to deal with this monster. The smell of monster and snakes was clear now, and there was a faint hissing reverberating from the woman's hair.

Her eyes were also covered up.

Snake-like smell, hissing hair, and covered eyes. Percy was pretty sure that fit the description of Medusa the Gorgon.

Annabeth was totally entranced, seduced by her hunger for food. Touka was on-edge, and already mistrustful of the woman, and Percy was all for a severe lack of subtlety. He tapped his sister on the shoulder, and she leaned down. "What?"

"That woman is a monster."

"Oh, okay."

Touka's kagune snapped out and crystalized, before unleashing a torrent of RC spikes at the Gorgon. Medusa was caught completely off-guard as massive holes began to rip through her body. The amount of spikes that Touka launched was enough to _obliterate_ the monster's body. The only thing left was a pile of dust, and shredded garment, and a disfigured head.

The eyes were closed, the expression was one of horror, and there were several stumps of snake bodies where the hair should've been, along with some actual snakes sticking out here and there. Hm, it seems that Touka had missed a few.

"Um…what the Hades just happened?"

"Touka just killed Medusa."

"Wasn't she the snake-lady that turned people to stone?"

Annabeth gaped. Medusa was one of the most infamous monsters in all of history. Her gaze was powerful enough to stop the kraken from destroying the city of Argos, and then for some reason Perseus threw one of the most powerful magical items ever…into the sea. And then Touka just ups and sprays the Gorgon with a bunch of projectiles like it was nothing!

"Annabeth, you can go get some food now. I can smell it coming from the back."

"Oh, um, right. Food…yeah. Food sounds good right now." The dazed daughter of Athena stumbled away, carefully avoiding the snake-woman's head. The eyes still worked, you know, and that was why Percy found a couple of plastic bags and wrapped the cranium up. Might be useful later, or serve as a wall decoration for his cabin.

"Now that she's gone, mind telling me why you brought her with us?" Touka asked with a twitching eye.

"For you," Percy said simply. Touka didn't get it. "That human friend of yours, Yoriko, you're freaking out over whether or not she'll still be your friend when she finds out you're a Ghoul, so I figured if we could get a complete, judgmental stranger to see we're not monsters, then a friend shouldn't be too hard to convince, right?"

The Rabbit blinked, then she punched her brother in the gut. "That's for using those damn eyes on me for a bullshit reason," then she pulled him into a hug, "and this is for being too much of a nuisance in my life." Percy grinned and nipped her shoulder, and she nipped him back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trio slept for the night in the warmth of the Emporium…well, Annabeth slept. Touka and Percy were still brimming with energy, so they busied themselves by destroying every statue in the creepy place. It was also really therapeutic, being able to just let loose and destroy shit without fear of ramification.

In the morning, they happened across a train track. They followed it west to an Amtrak station that just so happened to be westbound for LA at noon. Unfortunately, the combined amount of money between the three of them was just enough to get them to Denver, Colorado.

Two days on a train sucked balls for the two ADHD demigods; Touka managed just fine by busying herself with one thing or another. Percy and Annabeth just couldn't sit still for too long. Perhaps the highlight of the trip, other than seeing the giant lion in the woods, was that the Kraken was able to get the demigoddess to open up her past, and reveal her personal opinion of her father and the way she was raised.

Tragic, truly. A father that didn't want her, a step-mother that blamed her, and step-siblings that were just smelly pains in the ass. Ran away when she was seven, and that was as far as Percy got. Although, the point wasn't to bond and become friends, mostly; the point was that dear Annie was beginning to trust the Ghouls.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The train pulled into St. Louis, Missouri, and Annabeth wanted desperately to go to the top. Touka didn't really care, and Percy didn't see any reason as to why they couldn't have some fun and make some _good_ memories while on this quest.

So they went to the arch.

The underground museum was a complete bore, to Touka and Percy. Annabeth couldn't shut up about this and that, telling the Ghouls random stuff about wagons.

The trio eventually made it to the elevator, and Percy immediately smelled something very off. They got stuffed into the small space with a fat lady and a Chihuahua. This time, even Touka could smell the monster radiating off the woman. Annabeth was showing her age by acting all giddy at going to the top of an arch.

"So," Touka started lowly, "which monster are you?"

There was no-one else on the elevator, so the Ghoul didn't give a shit about being tactful. Annabeth gasped at the rudeness of her companion, "I'm terribly sorry, ma'am-"

"Annabeth," Percy cut in. "Shut up." The girl realized that the Ghoul wasn't being insulting; she was being serious. Annabeth took a closer look at the woman and her dog, and felt her blood run cold. Mortals weren't supposed to have forked tongues, and Chihuahua's didn't have beady red eyes.

Oh, Hades.

The fat woman chuckled. "I take you're one of those new things, then, right? A Ghoul? I was masking my presence well enough that Athena's brat over here couldn't sense me, but I guess my _scent_ betrays me."

"Yeah. It smells like a rabid animal that died several weeks ago," Touka snarked. The fat lady's face contorted into anger, but the Ghoul cut the woman off, "You never answered my question: which monster are you?"

The woman growled, but schooled herself nonetheless. However, the elevator reached the top with a ding. The doors opened, and everyone filed out. A park ranger, a family of three, and an old married couple occupied the observation deck. The magic of the moment was ruined by the still-unknown monster hanging around, so the stay up there was a tense one.

Eventually, the park ranger announced it was almost closing time, so the questers made their way to the elevator. Touka wanted to stay and fight, Annabeth wasn't keen on going up against an unknown, and Percy didn't want to make a scene. Unfortunately, the old people were already in the elevator, which prevented any more than two more passengers. So Percy played the part of adorable baby brother.

"Please, Touka?" he whined. "Can't you two go down so I can stay up here just a little longer? Please, please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top?" Percy was standing on his tip-toes, hands clasped together, and his eyes as extra wide as he could make them.

Annabeth was having trouble believing that the petulant child before her was the same boy that slaughtered a small army of Hellhounds, the Furies, and the Minotaur…all at once.

Touka grimaced, both at the act, and at convincingly playing her part as well. The Ghoul looked around the observation deck, taking note of the smiling family, the monster and her monster dog, and the reassuring smile on the park ranger's face. Finally, Touka 'caved.'

"Alright, alright. You can stay up here a little longer, but you had better be on the next ride down, or so help me I will climb back up here and drag you down with me, got it?" Percy giggled in a bubbly manner, and took off for the nearest window.

Touka and Annabeth climbed into the elevator, the old people smiling at them. "It's so nice to see such a caring big sister these days," the old man said. Touka just smiled tiredly, "Someone's gotta look after his little butt."

The doors closed.

The cheerful smile on Percy's face faded, and he adopted his Kraken persona. The park rangers had let him bring his bag up with him, so he reached in, and pulled out his mask before sticking it to his face. In his reflection, two green lights activated in the eyeholes, before they faded back into the darkness.

Now, he began to think. That woman wasn't a monster. Her dog was though, definitely the dog, but the woman herself smelled more like Dionysus, albeit much weaker. That meant she was a minor goddess, but that number of potential candidates for that were limited; then again, monster for a pet, forked tongue, fangs, and horizontal pupils, she was heavily hung-up on a monstrous appearance. The Kraken recalled there being a goddess of monsters by the name of Echidna, perhaps this was her.

There was also the family and the park ranger. They were in the way, and no doubt the goddess would attempt to use them as barriers, obstacles, shields, or something of the like. Killing them would remove them from the equation entirely, but the Kraken didn't feel right in taking the lives of innocents that weren't going to be his next meal, but he wasn't about to go out of his for complete strangers, either.

The Kraken resolved to ignore them, and take them out with extreme prejudice if they got in the way.

Had never killed children before, but he expected it would hardly be any different than adults or teenagers.

The Chihuahua began to bark rapidly, and the woman grinned, "All right, Sonny, if you want to do this now, then go right on ahead." The dogs barking got louder and louder, while it also got bigger and bigger. Percy didn't wait to see what it was about to become.

He blitzed forward, his body distorting due to his speed. He appeared in front of the dog mid-bark, doing a handstand/split combo. He performed a hip-hop dancer-styled spin, kicking the growing beast straight out the observation deck, and sending it tumbling hundreds of feet below to the Mississippi River.

"My baby!" the woman wailed. She turned her furious gaze upon the crouched and cautious Kraken, "You will pay for what you just did my son, you miserable little wretch!" She flung her hands out, and the Ghoul blurred to the side. Unfortunately, the magic the goddess just cast slammed straight into the four humans standing terrified at the elevator door.

The Kraken watched with no small amount of revulsion as the humans were slowly melted into a pile of steaming goo that began to eat through the Arch's supports. Hmmmm, maybe he could keep dodging her acid attacks and make her weaken the structure? That was one idea.

He blurred forward, and the sudden action was enough catch the goddess off-guard. He slammed his fist into her stomach with enough force to make her fold over his fist, and cough golden blood. Then the Kraken was blasted back into the elevator door by concussive wave of divine power.

"You dare to strike me, mortal!? You dare to strike the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!?"

The Kraken cocked his head to the side, **"Isn't that a kind of anteater?"**

The now identified Echidna howled. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me! For that, Percy Jackson, I shall turn you into an ant, teleport you to Australia, and cackle madly as you are eaten, digested, and shat out by an actual anteater! HAHAHAHA!"

The Kraken was silent. _'What is it with these divine entities and turning people into things? Artemis turned some dude into a stag, Athena turned someone into a spider, there's debate over which one turned a boy into a girl_ _ **(True story. Look it up)**_ _, and now this crazy bitch wants to turn me into an ant…why can't these people be more creative?'_

The Kraken dive to the side to avoid the energy that turned the doors into slag. He rolled and sprang up onto the windows, where he dodged another blast, this one blowing out half of the observation deck. He blurred around several more times, narrowly dodging energy blasts that destroyed bit after bit of the Gateway Arch. The Kraken wondered what the mortals were seeing down below. Annabeth was probably crapping herself at seeing an 'architectural masterpiece' being destroyed, and Touka was either worried for him, or shaking her head at how long this was taking.

He did have to admit; this was beginning to drag on.

The Kraken appeared suddenly, right next to Echidna. The goddess growled and thrust her hands at the demiGhoul, but a slender, whip-like, black-and-green tentacle, slapped her arms down to where they pointed at her feet…and the energy discharged.

The Kraken leapt away and shielded himself with his tentacles, the blast wave sending him flying out the window, but that final explosion was enough for the entire monument to collapse into the river. The massive amount of falling debris hid the Ghoul from the naked eye, but video footage _might_ catch him somewhere.

It would probably require a tedious amount of slow-motion searching, and a very precise optical organ, so Percy wasn't too worried about being spotted anytime soon. Besides, he was wearing a mask, so any news coverage of this could and would only end up as conspiracy theories.

The Kraken made an X across his body with his arms, angled his body down and went rigid, before torpedo diving right into the Mississippi River, things of varying size and weight splashing down around him.

The few times he had gone swimming in Tokyo, he always noticed that he didn't get wet. Apparently, that also applied to this God-awful river. River being used in a loose way. This place was a liquid landfill; trash of all kinds nestled at the bottom of the mud, and floated past. Beer bottles, food wrappers, rolled-up diapers, even a couch with a humongous catfish laying on it was down here…until what used to be the Arch came crashing down on top of the poor river creature.

A cloud of red began to wash up to the surface.

Percy looked above him, and raised his hands to stop the concrete slab from crushing him. He would've had trouble with something that big while on land, but down here, submerged in water, he barely even registered what was probably a few hundred pounds, probably more.

The Kraken calmly threw the chunk of Arch away, watching as it slowly sailed through the water, and impacted the mud. With that out of his way, the Ghoul began to swim for the surface.

 _Go to Santa Monica beach_

Percy froze mid-swim upon hearing a female voice in his head.

 _Got to Santa Monica, Percy, your father wishes it_

Percy's heart did a few flips. His Dad wanted to see him? Finally, he had waited for so long…but what if this was a trap? What proof did he have that this was father's summons, and not a ploy to lure him off course?

 _Do not fret child_

A woman materialized in front of Percy, and his heart stopped beating for a moment. Mom? No…Mom didn't have green eyes.

 _I am an envoy from your father, this I swear on the River Styx_

A shockwave rumbled through the river, as if a bomb had been detonated elsewhere upstream. The woman remained perfectly fine.

 _I also swear upon the Styx that it_ _is_ _your father's wish for you to go to Santa Monica_

Another shockwave, this one far stronger. Nothing happened once again, so Percy now believed the woman. His father wanted to see him! The woman smiled as if sensing the boy's elation. She extended her hand, and Percy swore he felt something brush his cheek. Then the woman dispersed.

Percy grinned underneath his mask.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Ghoul slowly poked his head out of the murky water, saw that every firetruck, ambulance, and police vehicle was present, and that probably half the city had gathered. The only thing left of the Gateway Arch was a couple of gigantic stubs that had sparking cables hanging loosely about.

Percy climbed out of the water, easily avoiding any and all eyes due to his hunting skills, and began to track down Touka's scent after he put his mask back in his bag. It was easy to find the girls, because Percy knew what his sister smelt like, and there was only one Ghoul in all of America…hopefully.

They were hidden in a crowd, listening to a news reporter. "... an adolescent boy," she was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, four confirmed fatalities, a park ranger, and a family who has yet to be identified ..."

Touka glanced down after smelling the arrival of her brother, spun around, and began to drag the two children away. When they were a good enough distance away, the Rabbit fixed the younger Ghoul with a hard glare, "Start talking."

It didn't take Percy long to recount his tail of the dog, the humans, Echidna, or the woman that came bearing new of his father's summon to Santa Monica.

Annabeth ad something again to admiration in her grey eyes, and Touka pinched the bridge of her nose. "After we stop off in Denver, I guess our next stop is Santa Monica. Come on, let's get the hell out of here before something else happens."

On their way back to the train, the happened across a news van with a reporter doing a new break.

"The assailant is an unknown boy, appearing to be about twelve years of age. As seen here, he is wearing a black hoodie, pants, and some kind of mask, but we were able to get a picture of his face before he began to throw around grenades, killing four people and destroying a national monument." A picture of Percy's face, and his mask, popped up, and the trio ducked into an ally. "If you have any information regarding this young menace, please contact the number below."

"Great!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Now you're a wanted fugitive."

"Yep," Touka agreed. "But there's one problem with being wanted in this country."

"And what's that? The fact that every camera on the continent can be accessed and our movements tracked wherever we go?"

"Nope. The problem with being wanted here is that the United States doesn't have any weapons capable of doing us any form of harm, short of missiles and nukes."

"Oh."

"The train leaves in thirty minutes, so let's go."

Thanks to their stalking skills, Touka and Percy were able to avoid every large social gathering, and sneak through unavoidable crowds in a way befitting super spies. Aunt Kaya was really good at blending in with the crowd. The trio made it back to their compartment with time to spare.

"You know," Annabeth began, "just because you two are bullet proof, doesn't mean me need to attract a bunch of attention, and all-black is really eye-catching, Percy. You need to change your clothes."

The Ghoul shrugged. It was a logical standpoint. The only problem was, he didn't have any extra clothes. All he packed was a few packages of meat and his mask. Touka sighed as she face-palmed. "The one time I actually agree with Owl Droppings-" "Hey!" "-you don't have anything to change into. Oh well, you have some extra clothes, right Bookshelf?"

"My name is Annabeth, but yes, I do have extra clothes, and no, I'm not giving them to Percy. They'd squeeze too much in the wrong places."

Touka snorted. "Please, there isn't much to squeeze. Besides," her kakugan flared, "I'm not asking you to give him your clothes, I'm tell you to. _Now!_ "

"Yes ma'am!" Percy darted to bathroom with Annabeth's bag in hand.

"You've got to have another reason for making your brother cross-dress, other than to provide extra anonymity," Annabeth said with narrowed eyes.

Touka leaned back in her seat, a smirk on her face as she gazed out at the passing landscape. "I used to do this to him all the time when we were younger. Always embarrassed the hell out of him then, and I'm channeling my inner-big sister so I'm feeling the strong urge to embarrass him even more. Besides, think of it as his just deserts for destroying such a beautiful architectural achievement."

That was enough to get Annabeth on board. The girl had literal fire in her eyes as she clenched her fist. "You're right, Touka! He deserves to burn in an eternal sea of shame for what he did to Eero Saarinen's greatest achievement! Yes, kukukukuku, yes he will suffer, and his suffering will be legendary even in Hell! KUKUKUKUKUKU!"

Touka sweat-dropped when lighting suddenly flashed out of nowhere behind Annabeth, thunder accompanying the girl's mad laughter.

The door to their compartment opened, and Percy walked in, his face beat red. The orange CHB shirt fit just fine, if not a little tighter and looser across the waist and chest. It was his shorts that called attention. Designed for girls, the jeans came down to about two inches above his knee, and hugged his legs tightly. His breathing was the same, so he wasn't being hugged _too_ tightly to where it hurt.

Touka was just doing this for fun, Annabeth honestly believed this was a justly deserved punishment for blowing up her beloved Arch. There was just one thing she had to make sure of. "You're not wearing my underwear, are you?"

"I draw the line at Disney Princess themed panties."

"Wait, hold on, the look's not finished yet." Touka grabbed hold of Percy before he could escape, and mussed his messy hair up into a rather feminine style, with small cowlicks sticking up her and there, and his bangs coming down over his left eye just a bit. "And Little Miss Persia makes her triumphant return!"

"Touka~! You promised you wouldn't do this to me anymore!"

"Do what, baby _sis_? Bring out the real you?" Touka gushed with stars in her eyes. "How could I ever part with my beloved little sister when I love her oh so much?" So dramatic with her speech, the Ghoul was. Annabeth was hiding her giggles behind her hand.

The train ride Denver continued without interruption. Annabeth laughed, Touka teased, and Percy continuously whined about being tricked into cross-dressing… _again_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **And there would be chapter five. Key differences here: no magic shoes, the entire bus disappeared due to hades' rage, we still have Medusa's head, Echidna was a bit stronger than in canon, the**_ _ **entire**_ _ **Gateway Arch has been destroyed, and Percy's exact name hasn't been revealed to the public, and people died.**_

 _ **I thought about bringing in the Japanese embassy, because they would take note of an American monument being destroyed, they would run Percy's face through their database, discover that he's a Ghoul, and then launch a retrieval mission to get him back to Japan and find out how the hell he somehow got out of the country, but I figured, that would just create a bunch of unneeded drama that even**_ **I** _ **didn't want to write about.**_

 _ **Percy cross-dressing and being called Persia is not to be taken seriously. It was just a little humor I thought was funny, and come one, what big sister**_ **hasn't** _ **dressed up their little brother?**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review Please!**_

 _ **PS. We're at 86 reviews right now folks, can you all do me a huge favor and give me at least 14? I get you all almost daily updates of decent length chapters, so do me a solid and make me fell all warm and fuzzy in the morning when I wake up and check my email!**_


	6. Heading West

_Heading West_

 _ **Holy Houdini we made it to triple digit reviews with just five chapters! Now we just need to get the Follows and the Favorites to join the party, then we'll be set.**_

 _ **Continuing from last chapter, we'll be taking care of the waterpark, the Lotus Hotel, and the Santa Monica beach in this instalment.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own either franchise

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The train pulled into Denver, and the trio climbed off. One old lady complimented the 'three' young ladies on being so responsible and polite in an era hoodlums and disrespectful children. Annabeth thanked the woman, Touka smiled good-naturedly, and Percy felt dead on the inside.

Annabeth wanted to contact Chiron to give him an update on the quest, Percy wanted to find a store and buy something that didn't make him look like a girl, and Touka was having the time of her life as she watched her _sister_ squirm in her shorts.

Unfortunately, they were all out of money aside from fifty drachmas and some spare change, so the Kraken had brought up shoplifting. Touka gasped and said aghast, "Now why would three responsible and polite young ladies such as ourselves ever perform such an unlawful act? For shame, Persia, for shame."

Annabeth openly laughed, and Percy just slumped over, defeated.

The quest traveled through downtown Denver for half an hour, with Annabeth leading them to a place where they could get in touch with camp. She annoyed the Ghouls by not telling how, or what exactly they were looking for. Eventually, though, they came across a deserted carwash, and grey eyes lit up like neon signs.

"So what are we doing here?" Touka made her displeasure vocal.

"We're I-M'ing Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

"We're going to Instant Message a centaur from half a continent away?"

"Not Instant Message, Iris Message. If you can make a rainbow, throw a drachma in it, know how to ask nicely, and she's not too busy, Iris can deliver a message to anywhere as long as she can find the person you're asking for. You two have 75 cents?"

Percy and Touka blinked, curious as to what would happen. The Rabbit found a couple of quarters in her pocket, and Annabeth activated the machine and set the nozzle to Fine Mist. Light shined through the airborne water, and a rainbow was created.

Annabeth threw a drachma into the light, "O goddess, accept our offering." The drachma disappeared in a golden shimmer. Nothing happened, but then the rainbow shifted and distorted, before strawberry fields and the Long Island Sound came into existence, along with a boy wearing an orange tank top and shorts with a sword in his hand.

"Luke!" Annabeth called out happily. Touka jerked her head to the side, and she and Percy quietly walked away, giving the two demigods their talking time.

"So how are we going to get to Santa Monica?" the Rabbit asked.

Percy shrugged, "Not a clue, but I have confidence that the answer will come to us when we least expect it."

Apparently they were least expecting it, because a Lincoln Continental just pulled right on up in the next stall, its stereo set to maximum hip-hop. The Ghouls shared a look, a silent message of understanding passing between the pseudo-siblings. "You're hiding the body," Percy said. Touka just hummed.

Maybe it was stereotypical, maybe it was racist, maybe it was just natural, but the man behind the wheel of the Lincoln was large, dressed in baggy clothes, had a few gold teeth, and was dark skinned. He also had a thing for little girls, because when Percy came around the corner, the black man's grin between downright lecherous, and there was a very disturbing predatory gleam in his dark eyes.

The man shut off his stereo, leaving the lyrics _'…I don't wanna hear that bullshit, I wanna hear that official shit…'_ hanging in the air. "Well hello there, shawty," the man slurred, "what's a pretty little girl like you doing walking around in a place like this? How 'bout this: you hop in my ride here, and we can go get some ice-cream or something before I drop you off at wherever your house is?"

Percy extremely violated, and he had no regrets when Touka's arm burst through the man's chest where his heart was. Death was instant; the downside was that the pervert's lecherous facial expression was now frozen on his face. Touka brought her arm out, and the man collapsed face-first onto the carwash floor.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I think that guy was raping me in his head."

"I think he was, too."

Touka popped the trunk, took the body's wallet—oooo, five hundred bucks in 20s and 50s along with credit cards and an ID that said Tyrone Lynch—and dumped the dead man into the back of the car before slamming the trunk. Annabeth came around just then, her cheeks flushed. Then she saw Touka's red-covered arm, and the empty Lincoln Continental. The daughter of Athena put two and two together, and she sighed.

"On top of Percy being a national fugitive, we now have to worry about the police coming after us for murder. Can you even drive this thing?"

"Of course, why do you think Percy and I even bothered with this thing?"

Annabeth sighed, somewhat disturbed by her lack of empathy for whoever the two Ghouls just murdered, and crawled into the backseat of the nice-looking car. Percy took up residence in the front passenger's seat, and Touka took the wheel. As if nothing was wrong, the questers pulled out of the carwash and onto the open road.

They made it about five miles before Annabeth's stomach began to sing its signature song. Touka glanced at the rearview mirror, "Please tell me you just have to take a dump."

The girl blushed at how crass and blunt the Ghoul was, but she shook her head. "Hungry. Haven't eaten anything besides some cookies and granola bars sense Persia blew up the Gateway Arch."

"My name is _Percy_."

"Not in those clothes, it isn't."

"Yeah, well-"

"Both of you shut up; there's a diner right here."

Touka pulled into a parking space, and the trio was soon seated at a booth next to a window. The sun was beginning to set. Inside, the Ghouls did an excellent job at masking their absolute disgust at the scents surrounding them, while Annabeth was doing a subpar job of not drooling everywhere.

A waitress walked over to them. "And what will you three ladies be having?"

"My sister and I will be having just a couple of waters, and the ugly one over there would like a double cheeseburger with everything on it, a side of fries, and a chocolate shake, please," Touka said smoothly.

The waitress jotted everything down on a note pad, and chuckled at the indignant look on Annabeth's face. "It'll be out in just a sec, m'kay?"

She walked away to give the orders to the chefs in the kitchen. Percy was sulking at being so easily mistaken as a girl _again_ , Touka was smirking in a very cat-like manner, Annabeth was about to go on a tirade at being deemed 'the ugly one,' and the massive biker with the Harley was pulling into front-row parking.

Decked out in black jeans, a red muscle shirt, and a black leather duster, the biker came complete with sunglasses, oily black crew-cut, thigh-strapped hunting knife, and more scars on his face than what should've been possible.

The biker strolled into the diner as if he owned the place, made a beeline straight for the booth, and squished poor Annabeth up against the window due to his massive size. "So your Seaweed's brat, huh? Nice fighting against Echidna; that was some top-notch destruction, punk, but I think your choice in dress is complete horseshit."

"And who the fuck are you?" Touka glared, an irrational anger building inside of her. Annabeth paled, "Um, Touka? You probably shouldn't speak that way to-"

The biker held up his hand with a grin. "S'okay, girl. I love a little sass from the mortals, just so long as they remember that I'm a god."

Touka was going to say something back, but Percy cut in, "You're Ares, the god of war." Touka closed her mouth, and settled for a wary gaze, realizing now that her feeling of confrontation were stemming from this guy's very presence.

Her feelings weren't real right now, so this was the time for emotional control, not the time to start a bar fight with a god.

"Ha ha! Hit the nail right on the money, punk. Yeah, I'm Clarisse's dad. Good job showing my kids just how high they are on the food chain, haven't seen a beatin' like that in a few decades."

"You're not mad I almost made your daughters piss themselves?"

"Naw. I don't fight my kids' battles. Ancient Laws, and stuff. Besides what kind of parent would I be if I stepped in to pull my kids out of every fire they get themselves into? We learn by doing, that's my motto."

The waitress came by with Touka's order, handing out the waters, and giving Annabeth her burger, shake, and fries. The Ghoul reached into her pocket to get out a 20, but Ares just handed the waitress some drachmas. She looked at them nervously, unfamiliar with the Greek currency. Her hesitation caused Ares to pull out his hunting knife and start cleaning his nails.

"Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress scurried away.

Percy and Touka were just fine with not having to pay anything. That meant that their $500 could be used elsewhere for something better—like clothes. Annabeth was just happy to have some real food, and she knew how not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Being on the run five years ago had taught her that.

"I doubt you're here just to pay for our food," Percy said. "So why are you here?"

WEE-WOO

WEE-WOO

WEE-WOO

The entirety of Denver's police force, numerous SWAT vans, and a small fleet of helicopters descended upon the diner like wolves upon a three-legged buffalo. The TV mounted on the diner's wall switched to a breaking-news feed.

"This just in: surveillance cameras have picked up the perpetrator behind the Gateway Arch bombing, in Denver Colorado. Authorities are on sight now, and have the young menace trapped inside this diner, and are preparing to take the boy and his compatriots into custody. Stay tuned to find out what happens next." The people in the diner all bolted out of their seats, and squished up against the walls as far away from Percy as they could.

"So here's the deal," Ares said casually. "I've lost my favorite shield at a waterpark close by, and I want you three to go there and get it back for me. Agree to do it, and I'll make this national fugitive business a thing of the past, or I can just leave you to handle all these punks by yourselves which will probably end in mass-murder, and the exposure of Ghouls to the world. So what's it gonna be punks?"

"So you get rid of all this bullshit, we go to a waterpark, get your shield, and bring it back here? Bitchin'. What waterpark and which ride?" Percy asked just as casually.

Ares smirked, before he snapped his fingers…and everything was calm again. The people in the diner all popped back into their seats, eating and talking amicably. The law enforcement outside shimmered and faded from existence. The TV on the wall's image switched to that of a different news report.

"Tyrone Lynch, known gang member and registered pedophile, has been found dead just outside Coors Field. Authorities mark his time of death at somewhere between four-to-five days ago, with the apparent cause of death being a point-blank shotgun shell. No slug has been found, so experts theorize that Lynch was killed off-sight, and his body dumped. More on this later."

"The waterpark is a mile west, on Delancy. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride." Then Ares simple vanished as well.

Annabeth finally swallowed the food in her mouth, Touka drained her water, and Percy made the Not-Bad-Obama face. That was certainly an impressive display of divine power. Just a simple snap of the fingers, and an army simply disappeared, along with national notoriety.

Now, to get that shield.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The gates to the abandoned waterpark were lined with barbed wire, so Touka just leapt over, Percy threw Annabeth, before leaping over the gates with practiced ease. The demigoddess didn't complain about being thrown over a fence like a baseball, nor did she question how the Ghouls were able to jump over an eight-foot fence with room to spare.

Seemed she was becoming desensitized to the powers of the non-humans.

They explored for a bit, taking note of the dumbest-named attractions ever, before they found a gift shop…left open. Percy was the first to raid the clothes rack, and came out of the changing room in a red t-shirt with Waterland across the front in white letters, and a pair of red cargo shorts. He could've passed as a lifeguard. Annabeth followed his example, but her shorts were flower-printed and shorter.

Touka didn't change clothes. She never had to change her clothes…

"Sigh, and so Little Miss Persia had been chained up yet again," Touka said sadly.

"And it's all for the better. Come on, I see the Tunnel of Love."

The Tunnel of Love was more like the Empty Cereal Bowl of Early Morning Disappointment. Fifty feet across, bone dry, with a tunnel on the opposite of the questers, and bronze statues of Cupid ringing the side. Percy, Touka, and Annabeth all came to the same conclusion that something was very wrong here.

Down in the middle of the Vacant Toilet Bowl, was a little two-seater boat with a canopy over the top, painted with little white hearts.

"If memory serves, Ares said he brings his girlfriend here, right?" Percy asked.

"Yep," Annabeth nodded.

"His girlfriend is Aphrodite, right?"

"Yep."

"But Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus, right?"

"Yep."

"And Hephaestus likes to catch his wife and Ares whenever they cheat on him, right?"

"Oh, several times."

"So, Ares came here with Aphrodite, but something spooked them enough to where he left his favorite shield here, and now he wants us to get it, but he didn't say that, because we were interrupted by a small army, right?"

"Pretty much."

Percy walked over to one of the cupid statues, and he found a little symbol carved into it. His Ancient Greek mind recognized the symbol as the Greek Eta, and his brief lessons with Annabeth told him that Eta was the symbol of Hephaestus. He suddenly sprinted to each and every statue, discovering that each statue had an Eta carved into it.

He sprinted back to Touka and Annabeth. "Every statue here has an Eta carved into it, and with Ares' shield down there, and the scent of celestial bronze heavy around here, I'm willing to bet this entire place was meant to trap Ares and Aphrodite."

Annabeth rubbed her chin. "Makes sense. But that doesn't answer how we're going to get down there, get the shield, and get back up before the trap activates."

"Oh that's easy…" Percy's kagune suddenly lashed out from under his red shirt, streaked down into the empty pool, wrapped around one of the canopy supports of the boat, and then yanked the entire thing out of the pool. Annabeth prayed to her mother, thanking Athena that the boat didn't break. "…you just need to pull it out."

Pulling the boat out of the pool had caused the hidden tripwire to activate, and now the sound of whirring gears was hard to ignore. The cupids drew back their bows, and launched arrows that trailed golden threads across the pool, forming a billion-dollar net. The cupid heads popped open, revealing cameras. Spotlights rose around the pool, and a loudspeaker boomed, "Live to Olympus in one minute…59 seconds…58…"

Percy calmly reached over and grabbed the shield, and Annabeth stuffed the scarf that was with it down into her pocket. An amusing idea occurred to Percy. He flipped the boat over, and used his tentacle to slash a few words into the plastic hull. He then promptly threw the boat onto the net.

"41 seconds…40 seconds…39 seconds…"

"Well that was fun," Percy chirped. Touka ruffled his hair, "Let's get out of here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Three…two…one…zero!"

All across Olympus, gods and goddesses from every domain imaginable were tuned in to Hephaestus TV, eager to Ares and Aphrodite caught in the act. Even most of the Olympians were watching in the throne room, with Dionysus and aforementioned war and love deities being absent. Only, instead of seeing Hephaestus' wife caught cheating, all they saw was an overturned, two-seated boat, with words carved onto the hull:

The Cake Is A Lie :P

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was only a little past 8:30 now.

The only further interaction with Ares was giving him his shield, which he spun like pizza dough until it turned into a bullet-proof vest, handing him his girlfriend's scarf, and getting a blue nylon bag with some stuff in it.

Ares drove off on his Harley, and the quest drove towards Santa Monica beach. Touka filled the tank of the Lincoln up for $18.21, and had the pedal glued to the floorboard through the rest of Colorado, through Utah, midway through Nevada, where they had to stop for more gas, which was no problem, before flooring it all the way to Las Vegas, and making it there at about 6:30 in the morning.

Annabeth had fallen asleep, but Percy and Touka were still wide-eyed and bushy kagune-d. Part of that was because they had shared a meal together while Annabeth was out.

The problem now was traffic. Driving through barren wasteland with wide open spaces at 95-110mph was one thing, but in a crowded city such as this…this was not _Grand Theft Auto_ where you your cars had health bars, and showed off a certain amount of damage before exploding.

This was reality, and a good enough collision could send Annabeth to Hades the hard way.

Percy and Touka would probably be fine with whatever happened to the car…short of a missile getting crazy on them.

Touka glanced at the gas meter, saw that they were half a tank, and pulled into a gas station. Annabeth woke up and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What time is it?" she asked, the last vestiges of sleep still in her voice.

"6:33 A.M. We're in Las Vegas, Nevada," Percy answered.

"Vegas…" she said slowly, racking her brain for anything to stay away from while in Sin City. In all of the texts she had read, cross-referenced with how things moved with western civilization, there was only one place she could think of. "Make sure we don't go into the Lotus Hotel and Casino. It's the home of the Lotus Eaters. If we go there, the spell will make us never want to leave, and a few hours in the Casino, could be a few days out here."

Touka was done filling up the tank and paying with cash. She slid back into the car, and Percy said, "Hey, Touka. Annabeth says to not go into the Lotus Hotel and Casino. It's a bad place, and will trap us with some kind of spell."

"We're all too young to gamble."

Touka peeled out of the gas station and headed straight for Santa Monica.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trio stood on the crowded, smelly beach of Santa Monica, at a little past eleven o'clock in the morning, on June 15, 2006.

"So…what now?" Touka asked to no one in particular. Annabeth hadn't the faintest idea, and Percy didn't either. But he did have gut instincts, and his gut was telling him to _go_. So that's what he did. The Son of Poseidon waded unopposed by the water as he walked deeper and deeper, ignoring Annabeth telling him something about pollution and toxins.

Percy traversed the depths of the Pacific, walking out further, and going deeper, than what any human could ever pull off. Despite the sunlight fading into darkness, the Ghoul could see perfectly fine. Well, perhaps see is not correct; more like sense. Something rubbed against his leg, so he looked down and cocked a brow at the ten-foot Great White that has somehow managed to sneak up on him.

Percy grabbed the giant shark's dorsal fin, and the two began to soar through the deep. The shark eventually deposited the Ghoul on the edge of the ocean proper, where the sand shot straight down into an endless black void.

From that void rose a beautiful woman. She had flowing black hair, a dress made of green silk. Light flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful I hardly noticed the stallion-sized seahorse she was riding.

She dismounted. The sea horse and the Great White shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag. The underwater lady smiled at me. "You've come far, Percy Jackson. Well done."

"You said back in the Mississippi that it was my father's wish to be here. Why isn't he here in person!?" the Kraken felt equal parts betrayed and disappointed. He was so looking forward to finally meeting his Dad, only for a messenger to greet him. Unacceptable.

The woman looked sad, yet understanding. "Believe me Percy, your father desperately wants to meet you as well. But a god is not allowed to show favoritism to any hero, especially their own children. That was a law decreed many Epochs ago, during the First Age."

"Then why are you here? Why did Poseidon want me come here just to meet a proxy!?" Percy knew it wasn't this woman's fault, but she was here, and she was something that could be yelled at.

The woman remained unfazed. "To give you a warning…and a gift."

She held out her hand, where she revealed three pearls. Percy took them, studied them, before putting the pearls in the pocket down by his knee.

"When you need them, smash them at your feet. What will happen will depend on the need, but remember: what belongs to the sea will always return to the sea."

"Thank you for the cryptic words. Is the warning going to be any more or less vague than that?"

Her eyes flickered with green light. "Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all. Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mistrust your own judgment. Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave. Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson."

She summoned her seahorse, and swam off into the deep.

Percy's eye twitched, his anger reaching a boiling point, before his kakugan activated, his entire kagune erupted from his back, and his gut seared with pain. For the first time, the son of Poseidon used his hydrokinetic powers. And he used them _violently_.

He roared in rage at being, what he thought, ignored by his own father. The water around bubbled as if molten steel had dropped into it. The poor, innocent Great White popped into a red haze. And the water…it exploded.

Back on the shore, surfers, swimmers, and tanners all screamed and panicked at the sight of the approaching tidal wave. Everyone made a mad dash for the parking lot in a stampede of fear. Touka and Annabeth's eyes widened at the two-story tall wave speeding towards them. The Ghoul grabbed the demigoddess by the waist, and sprinted full-force in the opposite direction of the Pacific Ocean.

The wave slammed down upon the beach, and swallowed everything that was on it, dragging it all back into the abyss.

A few people were crushed by the pressure, and a few were lucky enough to be able to swim back to the surface before they drowned.

Percy stalked back up to the surface, irritated and tired, both emotionally and physically. His new found powers over the water had drained his strength, and his disappointment at not meeting his dad was crushing.

"I take it didn't go so well?" Touka asked neutrally. Percy just buried his head into her chest, and she held him tightly. Annabeth stood off to the side, wisely not saying a word. "He wasn't even there," the Ghoul murmured. "He sent someone in his place. She gave me three pearls, and they're supposed to get us out of the Underworld alive."

Touka felt her shirt begin to get wet, and her eyes widened. Percy rarely ever cried. Hell, she couldn't even remember the _first_ time he cried; he was always just so happy, and at Anteiku, with his mom, her, and the others, they just mad everything so light. There was just no reason to cry.

For Percy to be quietly sobbing like this…he was _really_ hurt.

Off to the side, Annabeth had her own revelation. Percy was…crying. The _Ghoul_ was crying. And the other one, Touka, her blue eyes were shining with emotion. Caring, comfort, sadness, worry…the same things that Thalia used to look at Annabeth with whenever their life as runaways got hard, and there seemed to be no light at the end.

These Ghouls…they were just like humans.

Maybe it was true what they said: you are what you eat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **A rather sad ending to the chapter, in my opinion. Percy gets excited to finally meet his father, only for someone else, a complete stranger, to pop-up out of the abyss and say 'sorry your dad can't see you; there are some laws against that.' Then she gives him some pearls and a cryptic message before riding off on her magic sea-horse.**_

 _ **Wouldn't you be mad, too?**_

 _ **Annabeth's finally seen the light. She now realizes that (most) Ghouls aren't just complete, inhuman monsters, but they too feel emotions, just like she does. Just like humans do.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be the end of the Lightning Thief, and the transition into Tokyo Ghoul's canon. Spoiler alert: fuck the Sea of Monsters.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review Please!**_


	7. Gods and Ghouls

_Gods and Ghouls_

 _ **Wow, this story now has over 100 reviews after just six chapters. After just six chapters, this story now has more reviews than Backup Plan. Meh, what the hell. At least this crossover is going smoothly, right? I don't think there's been one flame yet, but I probably just jinxed myself with that comment, but oh well.**_

 _ **On to the good stuff!**_

 _ **Spoiler warning: be prepared for an epic confrontation between Percy and Ares**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy was subdued all the way to Los Angeles, the false-appointment with Poseidon having really soured his mood. Upon reaching the city, he began to perk up just a bit, because now they were almost done with this quest, with _plenty_ of time left to get from Point A to Point B.

The problem now was that they were in one of the biggest U.S. cities with a location to get to, but no idea where it could be.

DOA Recording Studios, the entrance to the Underworld. Percy felt really stupid for not asking Chiron for more specific directions, and he also cursed the centaur for _not giving_ more specific direction. With no better plan in mind, the trio began asking around. Touka would into businesses and ask for the Studio, only to get a blank stare in response.

Percy and Annabeth tried to check maps, but their dyslexia made it rather difficult. Touka skimmed over the papers, but she didn't find any indication, location, or hint of DOA Recording Studios. With no success, and it approaching late-night, they checked into a hotel.

The next morning, they resumed their search. Touka drove a bit slower than the speed limit, and had the windows down, in the hopes that she and Percy would catch some kind of scent. They drove into the suburbs, most of the houses looking rundown and torn up. The businesses didn't look much better, but it was here that they found pay dirt.

Percy's nose picked up a non-human scent at a place called Crusty's Water Bed Palace.

Touka parked outside, and the three went inside the palace. The man behind the counter definitely looked 'crusty.' He spread his arms wide, and tried to say hello, but a few black-and-green tentacles ripping through his vitals quickly silenced the monster. Looking around, they found some extra drachmas, which added to their total amount of gold coins, and a bulletin board with exactly what they needed: the address of, and a map to, DOA Recording Studios.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Looking at the Studio, Annabeth was nervous, while Touka and Percy were eager to get this shit done. With that, they walked inside.

Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of Percy's eye, he could see them all just fine, but if he focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking ... transparent. He could see right through their bodies.

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so the trio had to look up at him. He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag that read:

Charon.

Percy walked right up to the Ferryman and said, "We're trying to get to the Underworld; can you take us there?"

Charon leaned down, and all Percy could see was his reflection in the god's glasses. "Well, aren't you pretentious one, mate," his voice had a British accent, but it sounded forced. "I don't suppose you have coins for passage?"

Percy reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out coins to make Charon's jaw drop. "I think they call this the bribe for the ferryman."

Charon reverently ran his hand over the pile of coins on his desk. "Drachmas…real, golden drachmas." He looked at Percy, and took a sniff, "You're not dead. You're godlings…and something else." Charon growled, causing the ghosts to become restless and agitated.

Percy's eyes narrowed, "Are you going to accept the money and take us to the Underworld, or not?"

"Do you think I can be bought, godling? Leave now, while I feel generous, and I'll forget I ever saw you." Charon reached for the drachmas— "Wrong answer."—and his podium was thrown into the wall. The god was so shocked for a moment, that he failed to react in time to the tentacles that wrapped themselves _tightly_ around his body.

"Hey! What is this-!?" CRACK

Annabeth looked ready to faint as Percy slugged Charon in the face, and Touka's eyes narrowed.

"You either take us to the Underworld, and get your money, or I'll just keep punching you until you die, and your soul gets sent to Tartarus to reform. Your choice, bastard." Percy's kakugan bored into Charon like a pair of drills.

Now Touka became concerned. This wasn't her little brother; this wasn't the same boy that almost always had a smile on his face, or crawled into her bed when he had a nightmare, or was always doing his best to make his mother proud, and keep everyone happy. Something was happening to Percy. He was changing, going down some kind of dark path. What he was doing now, that was something that Touka would do.

The last thing the Kirishima girl wanted, was for her beloved baby bro to end up like her.

She had already lost one brother to hatred, she would be damned if she lost Percy too.

Charon broke after the forth punch knocked some of his teeth loose. Fucking freak packed some power behind those punches. Percy released the god, and they made their way to the elevator. Down they went, until strange things began happening. They began to go _forward_ , and the elevator began to change, slowly, gradually, until it was now a large wooden barge.

Charon steered them through the polluted River Styx. Percy looked up, and saw that far above him was a ceiling full of stalactites. The Underworld became visible soon, with black sand beaches leading all the way up to a gigantic stone wall that stretched as far as the eye could see. Then a monstrous howl echoed from far away. The Ferryman chuckled, "Sounds like old Three-Face is hungry. Bad luck for you, godlings."

Old Three-Face. Cerberus.

Percy was ready.

The barge slid onto the black shore, and the dead began to disembark, as did the questers. Charon pushed off with his pole, and the ferry disappeared across the Styx.

The dead began to walk a well-worn path, so the trio followed them. Eventually, they came across the true entrance to the Realm of the Dead. It looked like a cross between the Jersey Turnpike and an airport security check in. The dead split into three lines, two of which were marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and the third said EZ DEATH.

The first two crawled along, the last one speeding through.

Percy opened his mouth to ask Annabeth which route would get them Hades faster, but a terrible screeching rose up from beyond the wall. The Furies zoomed down from above, and crashed down into the black sand.

"Lord Hades has sent us to bring you three to his court," Alecto hissed with a grin.

Percy wasn't buying it. "Swear it upon the Styx."

"I swear on the River Styx that my sisters and I are here to bring Percy Jackson, Touka Kirishima, and Annabeth Chase to the court of Lord Hades, by his command." Thunder rumbled overhead.

"Fine then, but if you trick us, you won't be any more of a challenge now than you were at camp or the bus."

The Furies snarled, and flew forward, using their claws to pick up the questers. As they flew over the Underworld, Touka's eyes darted back and forth, as if searching for something. "You won't find your mother down there, child."

Touka looked up at the Fury carrying, Tisiphone, "What? Then where is she?" The Fury jerked her head to the right, and Touka saw the most beautiful neighborhood ever. Elysium. "Are you saying that she's…there?"

"Mm-hm."

A lone tear fell from Touka's eye.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Furies dropped their passengers right in the middle of Hades' throne room, because of the lack of ceiling. Percy had met two gods now, but it was the third before him that really struck him as godlike.

Hades was standing at ten feet. His skin was albino white, and his black hair fell to his shoulders. Upon his head was a crown of braided gold. He wore robes of the purest night, and he lounged in a throne of fused human bones. His black eyes stared deep into Percy's soul, and the Ghoul felt smaller now than when he was about to be killed by Mado.

"I'm curious, nephew. You did not steal the Bolt, so why what would possess you to come here, after what you've done? Planning to threaten me into joining Poseidon, after you also stole my Helm of Darkness?" Hades asked, his voice, deep, slick, and oily.

Percy blinked, "Threaten you with what, and when did I steal your Helm?"

"Threaten me with the Master Bolt, of course, and you stole my Helm during the winter solstice meeting! A clever plan indeed, boy. Using a conspirator to steal Zeus' toy, while you stole _my_ symbol of power. The resulting quest would give you the opportunity to come before me with the most powerful weapon in the universe, while I, devoid of my Helm, would be near helpless to stop you. I don't know how Poseidon got you to do this, but I can assure you, it won't work-!"

"I swear on the River Styx that I didn't steal your Helm of Darkness," Percy deadpanned. What is with these gods and jumping to conclusions? Shouldn't they have omnipotence? Shouldn't they already know these kinds of things? Seriously, how does a _god_ lose their _own_ symbol of power…and then can't find it?

Hades blinked when nothing happened to his nephew after the oath was sealed. "Then…why are you…with the Bolt?" he asked slowly, cautiously.

Now Percy blinked, suddenly aware of how heavy the blue bag on his back had become, and the strange, ozone-like smell coming from it. Oh, Lord…

Percy shrugged off his bag, unzipped it, and pulled out the two-foot-long metal cylinder that had spikes on both ends. Well, that wasn't in there the last time he checked, so it must have been enchanted to only appear when in the presence of another god.

"You swore on the Styx that you didn't steal _that_ , or my Helm, oaths that cannot be broken on pain of an eternity of death in the River, and yet it was in your bag. Explain, nephew."

"This bag was given to us by Ares, Uncle. And since gods can't steal symbols of power from other gods, that means that a demigod did it for him. It makes sense; the God of War, trying to start a war between the Big Three. He would probably get really powerful from a war like that," Percy thought aloud.

Hades rubbed his chin, "A plausible theory. If that oaf had the Bolt, then it stands to reason that he may also have my Helm, as well." He looked at Percy with something akin to embarrassment, "I apologize nephew for my false accusations."

The Ghoul shrugged. "Thanks, but that still doesn't answer how we're going to get your Helm back."

"The pearls that the Nereid gave you. Crush them. I have a feeling that Ares will be waiting for you on the surface. Confront him, and get my Helm back. Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera will take care of the rest."

Percy nodded, and gave a pearl to Touka and Annabeth, both of which had been exceptionally silent during this time. They stepped on the pearls, causing green light to flash, before all three of them were encased in white bubbles. They rose up, through the earth, through the ocean, all the way up to somewhere in Santa Monica Bay.

Percy looked around, spotted the beach, grabbed his spluttering sister and his…friend, maybe that was the word, and willed the water to take them all to land. His gut tugged, and the water did as he wished. That was so cool.

Upon reaching the sand, Percy wondered what else he could do, so he put his hands on the girls' shoulders, and wiled the water out of their clothes, making them dry. It worked perfectly. The Ghoul looked around, and sure enough, Ares was there, decked out in the same ensemble as back in Denver, leaning on his motorcycle with an aluminum baseball bat resting on his shoulder.

"Hey kid," he greeted casually, "you were supposed to die."

"Happy to disappoint. Now where's the Helm?" Percy demanded. Touka and Annabeth got ready for a fight.

"Oh you mean this thing?" Are reached into his pocket, and pulled the stereotypical ski mask that robbers always wore. He set it on the handlebar of his Harley, where it turned into an elaborate bronze war helmet.

Percy couldn't believe how easy this was. He reached into his bag, whipped out the Master Bolt, and thrust it at Ares. An arc of lightning tore out from the tip, faster than sound, and slammed into Ares' unprotected chest.

The God of War went streaking across the beach, destroying his motorcycle, sending the Helm flying—which was intercepted midair by the Furies who burst out of the ground—and kicking up a massive sand cloud. Ares was out, and would be for quite some time.

Annabeth and Touka gaped at Percy, who looked at them confused. "What? Were you expecting me and Ares to have some kind of epic fight to the death, god against Ghoul?"

"Um…I think a lot of people were, actually," Annabeth admitted.

"Well if the monsters were anything to go by, then I doubt Ares would've been much more of a challenge." Over in his sand pile, almost as if he heard what was said, Ares groaned. Percy zapped him with the Bolt again.

"So what now?" Touka asked. "The bats of the helmet again, we have the One Sparkplug to Rule Them All, and a guilty god lying in a pile of super-heated sand."

Ares suddenly disappeared in a flash of silver, and Touka and Percy registered a familiar scent pop up into their radar. The quest turned around and saw none other than Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.

"Well," Touka snarked, "at least I know that you didn't completely abandon my brother."

"Let's get you to Olympus," Artemis said. She began to glow brightly, and all three mortals averted their eyes, and then everything changed. The scents, the temperature, the sounds, the very atmosphere. Percy noted with no small amount of concern that Touka and Annabeth weren't with him anymore. "Don't worry, boy. They're with Chiron at the Big House."

Percy looked at the gigantic, golden, ornate doors, "I guess this is Olympus then?"

"Yes. Inside you will find Zeus, and Poseidon." Artemis paused, before giving Percy a hug. She pulled back, "I wish you luck," then she smirked, " _Persia_." The goddess disappeared as Percy groaned, her laughter echoing like a bell.

With a deep breath, the Ghoul pushed open the massive doors and entered the throne room. Percy got tunnel vision as he laid eyes upon the two gods sitting in their thrones, and he ignored everything else. He walked forward, instinctively realizing that he was in the presence of Zeus, and Poseidon.

Heh. All three of the major gods in one day.

The Kraken hadn't the faintest idea of what to do, so he went up, and engaged in a staring contest with two of the most powerful beings on the planet.

"Well boy, are you not going to bow to the master of this house?" Zeus rumbled.

"Oh, that's what I'm supposed to do? Well when I see the master, I'll happily bow to him or her."

"Why, you impudent, little-"

"Peace, brother. My son is only jeering," Poseidon said with a smile. Zeus growled, clearly displeased with being jeered at. Electric blue eyes glowered down at the cheekily grinning boy, "Give the Bolt, boy."

"Sure thing. On two conditions: one, you start saying my name, or call me 'nephew.' And the other: swear on the River Styx that you aren't going to kill me with it."

Zeus's eye twitched. "Very well then _nephew_. I swear on the River Styx that I will not kill you with the Master Bolt." Thunder sealed the oath. Percy through the cylinder up at the god. The Bolt began sparking and changing in Zeus's massive hand, quickly growing into the classic lightning bolt everyone knew and loved.

"For Ares to do something like this…that is most unlike him."

"He is proud and impulsive, brother. It runs in the family."

Zeus sighed heavily, looking down at Percy with disapproving eyes. "I do not trust you, nephew. I fear what your presence means for Olympus, and the power that you wield. A half-blood; fifty percent god, fifty percent Ghoul. You are an anomaly, Percy Jackson, and I will be watching you _closely_.

"Because of the things you have done for me this day, and for the sake of peace within the family, I shall let you live. However, do not ever attempt to fly, and do not be here when I return, or you shall taste my wrath, and it shall be your last sensation."

Zeus disappeared in a flash of lightning, thunder shaking the palace.

Percy slowly turned his head to look at Poseidon, his eyes slowly morphing into that of his kakugan. His sclera began to turn black, as veins the same color as his iris began to spread out from the green circle to the skin beyond. Poseidon had the decency to look nervous.

"Percy, I-"

"Stood me up? Yeah, that's exactly what happened."

The Sea God sighed. He could've easily pulled the classic 'Ancient Laws' excuse, but…he couldn't do that. Not to his son. Even among demigods, Percy was a special case. He was half god, and half-Ghoul. The only human in him was his last meal. Poseidon thanked the Fates every day that his child was as sane as he was.

It was a high probability that Percy could've turned out to be some insane monster, or at the very least, an uncaring murderer that could stare blankly into the eyes of a child as he killed it and not feel any emotion at all.

"If you had known Mom was a Ghoul from the beginning, would you still have loved her?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Poseidon said with unshakable resolve. "Your mother is a queen among mortals, and I fell in love with her the moment I laid my old eyes on her. Nothing will change that, not even her past as the Death Angel holds any sway over my love for her…nor does your identity as the Kraken hold any sway over my love for you, my son."

"Do you…do you really mean that?"

"I swear it on the Styx," Poseidon smiled.

Tears brimmed in Percy's eyes, and the Sea God surged forward in a torrent of water, transforming into a smaller form so as to embrace his son. Percy grabbed on tightly, a feeling of warmth welling inside of him that he had never felt before. His father _did_ love him…and that made him happy.

Poseidon set Percy down, and wiped the tears away from his son's eyes. "Twelve years old, and already an S-rated Ghoul. Incredible, Percy, simply amazing. And let's not forget about your quest: the Furies, the Minotaur, Medusa, the Chimaera, Echidna, Procrustes, you went in and came back out of the Underworld alive, and you fought against Ares, using the most powerful weapon in Creation. You have done me proud, son, very proud."

Percy was just too happy to speak right now, completely overwhelmed by his father's love. Thunder rumbled quietly, and Poseidon sighed, "Ahhh, it seems our time together grows short."

He pulled his son in for one last hug. "Remember Percy, wherever you go, you are my son, a Son of the Sea. I'm sorry, Percy, but you being my son has given you many enemies, and the road that is your future will be a harsh one, but…you choose your path, let no one else do it for you. I love you…my son."

Poseidon vanished in a sea-breeze.

Percy stood there for a moment, lost in the euphoria of hearing those words, then he saw the note at his feet. He picked it up, and he blushed furiously at what he read:

 _P.S. I think you make a very lovely daughter, Persia_

 _-Love, Poseidon_

Dammit Touka, this was all her fault! If she had just let him stay in his hunting clothes, not a single god or goddess would ever know about his convincing skills at cross-dressing. Percy had a suspicious feeling that there was going to be at least one deity that would get a good kick at switching his gender, just for laughs.

Still, Percy pocketed the note from his dad, and exited the throne room. As he walked through the streets of Olympus, he noticed that everyone stopped what they were doing to momentarily _bow_ to him. That made a strange feeling well up within. As a junior waiter, people looked at Percy with kind smiles and warm eyes; as the Kraken, humans looked at him with horror and Investigators with hatred, anger, disgust, or perverse grins.

But now he was being _revered_ by complete strangers-by minor gods and goddesses, by satyrs, by nymphs, by naiads, and spirits. It was so strange.

Percy instinctually found the elevator down to the mortal world, but Artemis, in an adult form, was standing there waiting for him. He silver eyes were an unreadable swirl of emotions, as if she was heavily debating something. When she saw him approaching, her eyes cleared themselves, and her back straightened.

"I thank you, Percy, on behalf of the Olympian Council, for preventing another civil war. War is never good, believe me, but one between the gods would leave the world in ruins." Her eyes narrowed in uneasy contemplation, as if she was unsure of what she was about to say.

"Percy…your life as a Ghoul, and as a hero, will be one of tragedy, and," she paused, "and that is not something I wish for anyone, even a boy."

"Where are you going with this?" Percy asked confused.

Artemis sighed, before she steeled herself. "Father's reward for your valiant service was letting you live; what I offer you is salvation. Touka may have only been jesting when she dressed you up, but I can make it permanent. You do not have to follow in the tragic footsteps of your ancestors; allow me to turn you into Persia, and I would gladly accept you as one my Huntresses," the goddess finished with a hopeful smile.

Percy's first thought was to politely decline being turned into a girl for all eternity as he watched his family and friends grow old and die while 'she' would stay the same, but the more he thought about all of the heroes he had learned about, heard about, read about, the more he could see that Artemis truly trying to _save_ him. Almost every story in Greek myth was a tragedy, not for sadness, but because the hero always fell prey to some inner-fault that cost them dearly.

As one of Artemis's Huntresses, he wouldn't have to worry about Investigators, or starving, or being cannibalized. He wouldn't have to worry about his family being attacked by monsters, or them getting hurt because of his presence. Becoming a girl would've been the selfless thing to do…while at the same time being the selfish thing.

How could he just up and abandon Touka? Or Yoshimura? Or Uncle Yomo, or Aunt Kaya, or Uncle Enji? Hell, how could he just abandon the few friends he did have? Hinami, Kaneki, and Hide? Being a hero and a Ghoul didn't mean anything; he would live his life as a man, not just for his gender, but for his beliefs, and his strength, and for his father.

Poseidon said to choose his own path, and that's what Percy did. He would weather the storm, regardless of how bad it became.

"I'm sorry, Artemis, but I'll have to decline."

The smile faded, replaced with a snarl. Silver eyes flashed dangerously. "You dare to refuse a goddess, _boy?_ After she offers you a chance to escape a life of pain and misery? You dare to slap aside her welcoming hand?"

Percy's kakugan flashed, and his kakuhou began to tense in preparation for battle. "I don't _dare_ to do anything. You made an offer, and I refused, simple as that. I won't run away from my life, from my family, to join an immortal girl scout club just to escape some scrapes and bruises in the future."

Artemis glared heatedly, before she smiled serenely. "Good answer. If you had accepted my offer, I would've cursed you for your cowardice in running away from your fate by taking the easy way out. You have earned my respect, Percy Jackson." She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Live well, cousin. Grow to become a good man, and treat women with respect and care. That is all I ask."

Artemis glowed brightly, Percy closed his eyes, and suddenly he found himself on the porch of the Big House.

Another thought occurred to Percy just then. The last line of the prophecy, a choice to spar or to kill. If he had accepted Artemis's offer, he would've inadvertently chosen to 'kill' himself by giving birth to Persia, but instead he had chosen the hard-life, therefore he 'spared' himself. But there was still a nagging feeling at the back of the Ghoul's head.

This wasn't over yet; Artemis was a plausible theory, but her offer was not the choice.

Percy knew he was going to confront someone in the near-future, someone he would have to decide whether or not to spare them, or to kill them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **There you go ladies and gents! The falling action of the Lightning Thief Arc is coming to a head, and the conclusion will be next chapter.**_

 _ **How was the fight with Ares? I told you it was going to be epic…epically short. I mean, come on guys. Percy had the Master Bolt, and he was only there for the Helm, why would he waste his time fighting hand-to-hand when he has the most powerful Grecian weapon in his possession? And Medusa's head…**_

 _ **Now, we all know who the last line of the prophecy is about, so I want to know: should Luke live or die?**_

 _ **Let me know in the Review section, after you've Favorited and Followed!**_


	8. Back to Tokyo

_Back to Tokyo_

 _ **Well, due to an astounding amount reviews that all boiled down to 'kill Luke,' get ready for some character death, and I'm going to start racking my brain on how to either spin canon into a believable tale, or just flip Kronos the bird and call it a day.**_

 _ **FYI, this is chapter 8, but when we hit chapter 10, I'm going to take a quick break and update the other three, so I hope that satisfies you antsy people wanting**_ _ **Backup Plan, Xenomorphic, and Leviathan**_ _ **to be updated.**_

 _ **Also, this chapter will be shorter than most because I couldn't really think of much to cram in to it, so off we go!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ If I owned PJO, canon characters would be far more powerful, and if owned Tokyo Ghoul, there would be a lot less drama and angst

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what do you want to do?" Touka asked.

Percy shrugged. "Finish the rest of the summer here, I guess. Going back home, we'd have to deal Investigators and the CCG. The worst thing we have to worry about here is being pranked, but that's hardly anything we can't deal with."

Touka sighed, "All right, two more months with a bunch of brats while dealing with my little bro at the same time…oh what the hell? Let's go."

It was the morning of the day after the summer solstice, and it was apparently a really big deal to come back from a quest alive. A massive breakfast was prepared, Percy, Annabeth, and Touka—after someone pulled a sword on her and she snapped it in twine, kakugan glowing with irritation—got to where these cute little laurel wreaths around their heads.

Later that night, the campers burned the burial shrouds. Burial shrouds were meant to be used in case the questers didn't come back alive. Athena's cabin had made Annabeth's shroud, a beautiful silken thing with golden owls embroidered in it, while Percy's shroud was made by the Ares cabin.

The children of the war god fidgeted nervously under the intense gaze of the Rabbit, who made her displeasure at her brother's crappy shroud known through black sclera, and vermillion irises.

Capture the Flag games every Friday were never the same again. After seeing Percy singlehandedly win that one game, Chiron had suggested that the entire camp go up against the Ghouls. Annabeth's first strategy was to throw the kitchen sink at the two enemies, just use superior numbers and overwhelming force.

The outcome of that game boiled down to quantity vs quality.

After three more weeks of having the Ghouls dominate the forest, Chiron decided to mix it up and have Touka on one side, and Percy on the other. _That_ game near-instantly evolved from CTF to WTGDTF. Watch the Ghouls destroy the forest.

Chiron quickly put the Ghouls back on the same team to avoid more destruction of the woods.

It just wasn't fair to the half-bloods. The naturally superior physical capabilities of Percy and Touka were just too much. They had more than enough strength to throw around a fully-armored demigod around like a ragdoll. They had more than enough speed to make the wood nymphs heads spin. And there was their kagunes.

The black-and-green tentacles, and the fiery wing…it was just overkill.

Predictably, Touka and Percy would periodically get bored, and they would alieve this boredom by beating the ever-loving shit out of each other. The arena was hardly recognizable after the Kraken and the Rabbit went head-to-head. To anyone watching, all they could see was a bunch of blurs, something being slammed into somewhere, making dust erupt everywhere. They saw black tentacles whipping about, and hordes of crystalized projectiles digging into stone like Alabama ticks.

It made the god-children feel _really_ weak. As well as jealous.

July 4 came, and the Ghouls were honestly entertained by the fireworks display. They sat with Annabeth, and some satyr by the name of Grover came over to them, telling the blonde that he had gotten a searchers license. He and Annabeth were apparently really good friends, because the girl was seriously happy for the goat boy, and his searchers license…whatever that meant.

Grover looked ready to piss himself when Percy and Touka looked at him with their kakugan active.

The Ghouls got a good laugh that night.

The rest of July and August passed without much interest, aside from Touka thrashing a couple of arrogant Ares kids around the mostly destroyed arena. Dumb kids thought they could gang-challenge the Rabbit. They were still in the infirmary.

And now the last night of the summer session was here, and Touka and Percy planned on driving back across the country before hopping a boat back to Tokyo. Dinner was uneventful, with the Ghouls just throwing their food into the fire. Funny how no-one questioned them on why they never appeared to eat.

At the bonfire, senior councilors handed out end-of-the year beads. The bead this year was solid black, with a green-and-red circle in the middle, the colors split in half down the middle. On the green side, green jagged lines spread out, and the same thing was on the red side.

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced with a grin. "This bead commemorates the first Ghouls at camp, and the quest they undertook to the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"

The campers all got to their feet and cheered. Even the Ares cabin got up and clapped. The Athena campers steered their youngest to the front so Annabeth could share in the applause.

Percy was blushing up a storm, and Touka had almost no idea how to handle positive feedback from people other than those at Anteiku.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Touka was packing up what little stuff she and her brother had. She left the Minotaur horns up on the wall, along with Medusa's head. That damn thing creeped her the fuck out. Percy thought it looked cool.

The Kraken found a letter from Dionysus.

Dear Peter Johnson,

If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.

Have a nice day!

Mr. D (Dionysus)

Camp Director, Olympian Council #12

Percy was tempted to stay, just to see if any of that was true, but like his sister, he was ready to get back home. He missed the smell of Anteiku, and the scent of his mother, and the godsdamned challenge presented by strong Ghouls.

Gods, just waltzing over all of these demigods had made the Kraken realize that overwhelming power made life extremely _boring_.

What good did it do to fight someone, when you could kill them near-instantly?

It took all the joy out of battle.

While Touka finished the last bit of packing, Percy decided to take one last walk around camp. Taking in the sights, the Ghoul did wonder if he would ever be back here again. There was honestly no reason to be back here. He was a top-notch combatant, easily able to take on multiple opponents. Ancient Greek came easily to him, as well as every myth, legend, and story.

And he lived with Ghouls.

That Hellhound eight years ago had been the only confrontation with monsters, ever.

Percy's hearing detected the sound of a sword slashing through straw, and his nose picked up the familiar scent of Luke Castellan. Walking to the arena, he saw the son of Hermes hacking apart training dummies. While Percy had no real interest in swordplay, he could appreciate the skill that the demigod displayed with the blade.

Luke spun around, decapitating a trio of dummies, when he saw Percy. "Hey."

The Ghoul blushed a little, embarrassed at being caught staring. "Sorry, I was just-"

"It's okay," Luke said. "Just getting in some last minute training." He cocked his sword on his shoulder, and that's when Percy noticed something off about the blade. One side was celestial bronze, while the other was tempered steel. Luke saw the younger boy's eye, "Oh this? This is Backbiter."

Percy didn't like that. As far as the young Ghoul knew, the only weapons that had names are Quinques. He was on guard now.

Luke grinned and held up a six pack of water. "I know we didn't get along great at first, but how about you and I head to the forest, try and find some monsters to kill, get to know each other better?"

Percy smiled. "Sure!"

On the outside, the son of Poseidon was cheery and eager to make a new friend. On the inside, the Kraken was calculating, trying to figure out what the hell this man wanted. Luke had rubbed him the wrong way from day one, and now all of the warning bells were going off.

Something big was about to happen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They didn't find any monsters, probably because they all thought it was too hot and decided to stay in their caves. Luke and Percy sat on a large rock in the woods, drinking their waters.

"You miss being on the quest?"

"Not really. It isn't any different than Tokyo."

"Ah, yes. Ghouls, Investigators, and the CCG. We don't know the specifics, but we do know that it sounds like hell."

Percy shrugged. "It's not so bad. I've been living with it for all my life, so I'm used to it."

Luke was silent. He drained the rest of his water bottle, before he crushed it, and threw it into the nearby creek. Percy raised a brow; he thought littering was one of the biggest taboos in camp, because the nature spirits always got revenge in some form or another. What was Luke doing?

"Don't you want to change it Percy? Don't you want to end it all, make it to where Ghouls and humans could live in peace, without fear of being cut down by some nut using a weapon torn from your species' body?"

Percy had no idea where this was going, but he answered truthfully. "Yeah, I guess. It was never really something I thought about, but I guess it would be nice to wake up and not have to worry about being attacked. Why are you worried about it?"

Luke looked at the Ghoul, and the sunlight suddenly caught his face. His hair looked grey, his scar deeper, uglier, his face gaunt, and his eyes haunted. He looked like a radical old man trying to pass on his ways to the younger generation. "Things are happening, Percy. Ancient beings are beginning to rise, old monsters beginning to stir. The time of our parents is coming to a close, and a new world order will be established. Help me Percy, and Tokyo-no, all of _Japan_ would be yours.

"Think about it. No more CCG. No more Investigators. No more hunger. No more gangs vying for territory and power. A world in which you, your sister, your mother, and all of your family would be safe from everything, and free to do as they want. You wouldn't have to live as a predator; you would get to live however you wanted to."

Percy's mouth fell open, his eyes widening in shock. What…what was Luke talking about!? Ancient beings!? Old monsters!? A new world order!? Ruling a country!? It was…it was…it was _insane._ The Kraken, the Rabbit, the Death Angel, the Black Dog, the Devil Ape, and the One-Eyed Owl were powerful Ghouls. He and his family could, and would, handle any and all opponents. The CCG, Investigators, other Ghouls…they could all go to hell.

But what Luke said…

"Ancient beings…you mean the Titans, don't you, Luke?" Percy's eyes widened as another revelation hit him, "You're the one who stole the Bolt, and the Helm."

Luke's grin turned vicious. He stood up and snapped his fingers. A ring of fire burned the grass at Percy's feet, and a black scorpion as big as a hand revealed itself. "Kronos rises, Percy. I offered you the chance to join us, but I can tell by your tone of voice that your answer is no."

Percy's hair covered his eyes as he realized the last line of the prophecy: a choice to spare or to kill.

The scorpion began to climb up the boy's leg.

Luke was a threat, now, a global one. It was clear that he intended to destroy Olympus, and he had pledged his allegiance to some Titan or another, probably Kronos. The demigod was powerful; a master swordsman, and a master thief. He had stolen the Bolt and the Helm, almost started a war. Ares had come in at some point and had been convinced to help Luke, but Percy wasn't worried about how or why.

He was just drawing a blank as to why Luke should live. Throwing righteousness and logic out the window for a moment, Castellan is the one that came in and _ruined_ Percy's relatively quiet life, and threw the proverbial monkey wrench into everything, so the Ghoul was entitled to a little retribution.

The scorpion was on Percy's left thigh now, and a decision was made. The Ghoul moved with blinding speed, catching the scorpion, squeezing its tail to its body. A bit more pressure, and the tiny monster exploded into exoskeleton and goo.

Luke's eyes widened, and he slashed his sword behind him, creating a black-and-purple ripple in space and time. He made to jump in, but something slashed off his legs at the knee. Poor, poor son of Hermes. His scream didn't get to leave his mouth, nor did his body get to hit the ground, before a swarm of black-and-green crashed down on him, and turned his body into a bloody paste.

Percy felt it then, a non-physical shockwave that ripped through him and the world. He had a feeling that Luke Castellan was supposed to be a major enemy, but now he was an unrecognizable corpse that was turning the creek red.

Percy picked up Luke's sword, Backbiter. It was light as a feather in his hand, but it had an aura about it. A viperous one; one that screamed subtle danger. Percy reached into his pocket, and pulled out the pen that Chiron had given him before the quest. For the first time, Percy clicked the pen. It turned into a bronze _xiphos_ with a Greek word across the hilt: Anaklusmos.

Now he had two swords. Backbiter and Riptide.

He sniffed the air, taking note of the large gathering of people over where Half-Blood Hill was probably at. Time to go. He took one last look at what was left of Luke, sighed sadly, and made his was out of the forest. As he walked away, he prayed to Hades.

' _Please don't be hard on him, Uncle. He only felt betrayed, and he did something not many people can do. He followed his heart, and chose to walk his own path. I'm not saying to put him in Elysium, but the Fields of Punishment aren't right for him either.'_

Maybe they could've been good friends in another life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy walked up Half-Blood Hill, his eyes dark and his mood sullen. The cheering of the campers began to die off as they sensed the melancholy atmosphere surrounding the son of Poseidon. At the top of the Hill, Chiron, Dionysus, Annabeth, and Touka were waiting for him.

"Something wrong, Percy?" Touka asked with clear concern in her voice. Since when did he have two swords?

Percy walked up to Chiron. "The prophecy is complete. All lines have been revealed, and the choice has been made."

Chiron's eyes narrowed, but not in suspicion. "Tell me what happened."

"I confronted the Lightning Thief, sir. He revealed what his reasons were behind the theft, and that," Percy took a breath, "and that the Titans are rising."

Gasps rose up from behind.

Chiron also took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I suspect that the Thief was the subject of whether or not to spare or kill?"

"Yes, sir."

"And who was the Thief?" Chiron asked slowly. Percy knew that the centaur knew the answer, but the old man wanted the verbal confirmation, just to ease his heart. The Kraken turned to look at Annabeth, and the blonde's eyes widened in horror. Percy looked back at Chiron.

"The Thief was Luke Castellan, son of Hermes."

It was silent for probably three seconds, before everyone exploded into protest, the more vocal being the Hermes cabin. But everyone paled in comparison to Annabeth's outcry. "LIAR! There's no way Luke could ever or would ever do something like that!"

" _Silence."_

Dionysus's voice was barely more than a whisper, yet it held more power than an exploding star and carried over everything like an NFL loudspeaker. His purple eyes were looking at something off in the distance, and Percy knew that direction to be where Luke's corpse was mixing with the creek water. The god looked at his cousin.

"And what proof do you have of these claims, Perseus? The Titans rising, and Hermes' son stealing Father's Master Bolt is quite the accusation."

"I swear on the River Styx that everything I said is true."

The day was as beautiful as you could imagine. Blue skies, zero clouds, warm temperature, bright sun, and no wind. Even so, thunder shook the entirety of Camp Half-Blood, knocking many off of their feet.

Dionysus' face set into a grim expression. "Perseus, Touka, I suggest you leave. Everyone else, back to your cabins, now. All activities are suspended for the day. I must go to Olympus; a situation like this needs to be discussed."

Everyone did as they were told. Percy walked past Annabeth, who was trying valiantly not to break down right there. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't. Please, just d-don't," Annabeth choked on the last word, and she took off in a dead sprint as the tears fell.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the luck of the gods, or the Irish, or their ancestors, Touka and Percy made all the across the States without issue, stowed away on a cruise ship, and had smooth sailing all the way across the Pacific to Tokyo Bay. Of course, neither Ghoul actually got off the shift at port; they simply jumped off at Point X, and walked up on a beach, before catching a cab to Anteiku.

And just like that, the Ghouls were back in Tokyo.

After all they had been through, it all just seemed surreal to be back home that easily.

Touka ruffled Percy's hair. "Come on, we need to help clean up, and I bet your mom is going to squeeze you to death."

"Oh, joy."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _OMAKE_

 _Persia's Debut_

It was night time at Anteiku, and the family of Ghouls was just chilling around the café, resting and relaxing, enjoying some cups of their own coffee while they unwound from the day's events. 14-year-old Ayato sat at the bar, brooding with a glass of water. Touka was 14 now, and Percy was ten. Speaking of those two…

"Oh come on! You look fine!" came the voice of Touka she emerged from the 'employees only' door, a teasing smirk on her face.

"I look stupid!" Percy's voice echoed from somewhere up top.

"That's because you are _stupid_ , stupid. Now get down here and take this like a man; you lost the bet, and you promised to do whatever I said."

"What's this all about?" Sally asked curiously. What bet? And what was causing Percy to hesitate in coming down here?

Touka folded her hands behind her back, and put on an innocent face. "Percy and I made a bet regarding how much tip I would receive today. He said I would get less than 5000 yen. I ending up 5016 yen, so he lost, AND IF HE DOESN'T GET HIS BUTT DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW, I'M GOING UP THERE AND DRAGGING HIM DOWN!"

There was the sound of hasty shuffling, and Touka beamed. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you-" Ayato took a drink from his water glass– "Persia Jackson! -"and spat it back out.

The way Percy was dressed right now, there was _zero_ chance of anyone mistaking him for a boy. Pink-and-white striped stockings, faded pink ruffled skirt, tight-fitting white shirt with long pink sleeves that covered his hands, a pink neck, and his hair had been brushed to where his bangs lightly covered his left eye. Persia Jackson indeed.

Everyone was quiet as their minds began to wrap around what the eyes were sending it. Percy face seemed to be trying to take on a shade similar to tomatoes. He looked at his mom for any kinds of support, but instead, all he saw was mirth, that quickly became giggles, then chuckles, then she was full-out laughing.

The ice broke, and Koma began guffawing, Irimi was openly chuckling—which was a sign from God that she wasn't a robot—Yoshimura's grin had become wider, showing off his teeth. Ayato sighed, and went back to brooding. Why did his sister have to treat Percy like a puppy? And poor kid just went along with it.

Percy buried his face in his pink-covered hands, trying to shrink into nonexistence. Sally's genuine laughter subsided, and she pulled her baby into her embrace. Percy still kept his face hidden. "Come now, Percy. We're only teasing. Besides, I think you make a very lovely little lady."

That was not helping the self-esteem get any higher.

Sally squeezed a little tighter, and sea-green eyes peeked out from a curtain of jet black. "Ah! There he is," the Death Angel cooed lightly. Percy peeked out more at being addressed by male pronouns. Sally beamed softly at her beloved son. "Don't you ever forget, I'll love you always, no matter what you're dressed in."

"Always?"

Sally pecked his forehead. "Always. Now let's put you to sleep. It's past your bedtime, little missy."

Percy whined lightly at the new wave of chuckling that was passed around.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Luke is dead. Percy's got a couple of new swords to play with…or throw away. Medusa's head is back at CHB, but having it here in Tokyo would eliminate about half of TG's canon with just a pair of eyes. Percy and Touka are back in Japan, but next chapter will not pick up as soon as they walk in through the door…**_

… _ **BUT WITH**_ _ **TOKYO GHOUL**_ _ **'S CANON!**_

 _ **That being said, I hope you all enjoyed the Omake. I personally thought it was cute and fluffy, but it's not to be taken seriously.**_

 _ **Until this time-ish sometime tomorrow then…Fav, Follow, and Review Please!**_


	9. New Ghoul in Town

_New Ghoul in Town_

 _ **It's finally time for Tokyo Ghoul's canon to shine! Some notifications before put the spaghetti into the machine: Kaneki, Hide, and Percy know each other, but Kraken remains a secret. Kaneki WILL become an artificial Ghoul. Canon will obviously be different because of Percy. But don't expect any major differences…yet. Finally, this will follow the ANIME, I repeat, the ANIME, not the manga.**_

 _ **That being out of the way, let's get Kraken!**_

…

 _ **You know, cracking? Kraken? It's a pun…just go read the chapter…**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So tell me who's your special lady friend? Is it heeeeer?" Kaneki balked at what his friend, Hide, just asked.

"I know you're not talking about Touka," a childish voice huffed.

The two friends flinched at the sudden intrusion, but calmed down when they saw it was just Percy. Little brat had a really bad habit of just sneaking up on them. In the few times Kaneki and Hide had been here, that boy always took their order, and always somehow managed to just pop up.

Hide recovered from his initial surprise, and his mischievous grin came back full force. "Is that protectiveness I hear in your voice, dear Percy? Is Miss Touka over there _your_ girlfriend?"

"No dumbnut, she's my sister."

"Whaaaaaat?" Hide gasped. "But you two look nothing alike!"

Percy shrugged. "She's adopted."

Touka, who was walking by as that was said, threw over her shoulder, "You're the one who's adopted, little brother."

"Uh-huh. Anyway," Percy turned his attention to the older teenagers, "what will you two be having?"

"I'll have a cappuccino," Kaneki said. "And Hide will have some duct tape for that big mouth of his."

Percy scribbled down some stuff on his notepad. "A cappuccino…and…some duct tape. Alright. Coming right up."

The anonymous Ghoul tore off the note, and gave it the bartender, Yoshimura. Old man always had a smile on his face. The entry bell tingled, and Percy's danger-sense shot up to such a degree that his kakugan momentarily flared in response. He took a deep breath, reigning in his rampant RC cells.

When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw the cause of all the recent commotion in the relatively peaceful 20th ward. Dressed in a white dress, white stockings, pink sandals, a blue long-sleeved shirt, fake glasses, and her purple hair neatly arranged, Rize Kamishiro was the picture of femininity and grace…she was also a rabid animal known as the Binge Eater.

So named because of her _excessive_ eating habits.

She was also _hunting_ right now. Hunting Kaneki.

Percy and Touka shared a look, and for just a microsecond, their masks fell. The cheerful Percy vanished, and the shy Touka disappeared, replaced with the Kraken and the Rabbit. Then they were both smiling at each other.

Rize sat down at a table on the wall of Anteiku, and Percy practically skipped over to her, notepad and pencil ready to go. "And what will you be having today, Miss?" His eyes were closed, and the cutest grin was on his face.

Rize smiled kindly. "I'll just be having a cup of regular black coffee."

"That's all? Be right back then."

Percy walked over to the bar, where Yoshimura already had a cup of coffee waiting and ready. He handed the steaming liquid over with a warning, "Be careful, Percy." The thirteen-year-old grinned, "I will."

He set the cup down on Rize's table, and he stood back up, he whispered darkly, "If you even think about touching Kaneki, I'll tear you apart and eat what's left."

Rize's smile turned serpentine. "A bit young for cannibalism, aren't we? Run back to mommy, brat, you smell like you need a diaper change."

Percy smiled brightly again when he stood up fully. "Enjoy your coffee, Miss!"

"Thanks, I will!" Rize beamed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that night_

"I don't get why you're so worried about him. Sure Rize's a problem, but that guy is just a human."

"Just because you don't like him, Touka, doesn't mean that I still can't think of him as a friend. Don't you have a date with Yoriko tonight, anyway?"

Touka punched Percy on top of his head. "I'm not gay, you little shit. We're just hanging out, doing girl stuff. I'm more worried about you; all worked over a boy, are we?"

Percy punched his sister in the boob, making her yelp. "I'm not gay, you giant shit." Touka growled, her eye turning red, ready to beat her little bro's ass till he was crying like a baby, but the Kraken leapt out into the night, and sped off, probably to where he smelled Rize.

Touka's anger left her, and was replaced with worry. Fighting the One-Eyed Owl was impressive, but Yoshimura wasn't using lethal intent. The Binge Eater would be. The Rabbit clasped her hands in a silent prayer.

' _Be safe, Percy.'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Kraken was too late. He arrived at the construction site just in time to see a number of steel beams crash down upon Rize and Kaneki…but the Ghoul responsible for this attempted murder was still up there. Seeing Kaneki in such a near-death state, filled Kraken with immeasurable rage.

Ignoring the sound of wailing sirens, the S-rated Ghoul blurred forward, scrambled up the skeleton of the skyscraper, and appeared in front of the Clown Ghoul. The Clown balked, **"Who the hell are you?"**

" **The last thing you'll ever see."**

The Clown did something shocking. Instead of activating his kagune, he pulled out a Quinque of all things. A tsuba-less katana with a longer-than-average grip. It was a mass-produced Bikaku Quinque called Tsunagi. Why a Ghoul had a Quinque was beyond the Kraken, but he didn't care.

This Gourmet bastard robbed him of Rize, and put Kaneki in a position of death.

The Kraken's kagune whipped out, two tentacles streaking forward. The Clown leapt over them, and sailed forward with his Quinque cocked overhead. Kraken twisted to the side at the last second, and speared the vulnerable Clown through the face with a third tentacle.

The euphoria of battle gone, the Kraken took a better sniff of the Clown. Interesting; despite wearing a Ghoul's mask, the corpse smelled more like a human than a Ghoul.

Kraken retracted his tentacles, and grabbed the body before it could fall several stories down. Surrounding the skeleton of the skyscraper, numerous police and ambulances were parked, moving Kaneki and Rize onto stretchers, before pulling out and heading to what was most likely the hospital.

The Ghoul quickly vacated the area, taking the dead Clown with him.

He hadn't eaten in three weeks, and being angry made him hungry.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mom, I'm worried about Kaneki. He was released from the hospital a few days ago, but he hasn't been back here yet," Percy almost whined. Kaneki was a regular visitor at Anteiku, and Percy considered him a friend, despite him being human. For the bookworm to not be here in so long deeply concerned the young Ghoul. Sally had taught her son that friends were a good thing in life, and they needed to be cherished.

The Death Angel understood where her child was coming from, and was proud that he showed such emotion for a human-a food source. She vividly remembered a time in which she would've killed any of her underlings for having such sentiment for dinner. Alas, she was worried for Kaneki, too. He was a sweet boy, innocent, cute, and he had such a positive influence on Percy.

In a world of creatures that ate people, Kaneki Ken was one of so few factors that kept Percy human, despite the Kraken being zero percent human.

Sally hugged her son tightly. "He's probably just shaken up, sweetheart. Being attacked by a Ghoul that he just took on a date probably left him some kind of trust issues, so he's trying to adjust to life again. Give him some time; I'm sure he'll be back really soon."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was night across Tokyo, and the Kraken was out for a run across the rooftops. It was always fun being able to let loose and move around. He couldn't do it in the day for obvious reasons, but at night was a whole other can of worms. Percy soared across from one roof to another, rolling forward with his momentum and popping up in a leap that easily cleared an air unit.

Then he picked up a scent.

The scent of blood.

He sprinted across the skyline of the 20th ward, tracking down the scent in a manner befitting an experienced predator. He wondered if Artemis was aware of what he was doing right, since he was technically hunting, and hunting was the goddess's domain. Meh, food for thought.

"…if you trespass on my territory, you _die_ ," a deep, pompous, and almost deranged voice said from below. Looking down, Percy saw a dead human, a dead headless Ghoul, and none other than Nishiki Nishio holding some pour sap to wall by the throat. That was funny…that guy smelled like Kaneki…and a Ghoul…at the same time…

"Hey!" Percy dropped down from the rooftop into the alley. "This isn't your territory, and you know that."

Nishiki looked behind him, his kakugan narrowing. "Percy…"

"The territory Rize stole will be distributed among the other Ghouls by Anteiku, so just drop the guy, take your corpse and leave. We don't have to fight over dead bodies like animals," Percy said with a cautious tone. He didn't want to fight Nishiki, the guy could be cool sometimes, but he would beat his hazelnut-haired ass into the ground if need be.

Nishiki turned fully around now, dropping the trespassing punk. He was pissed now. "You mind telling me why everything we do in the 20th ward had to be ran by those fence sitters at Anteiku?" He advanced towards the younger Ghoul, a red mist swirling lightly around his right leg.

"I'm warning you, Nishiki."

"Watch your mouth, you little brat. Since your mother didn't teach you how to respect your elders, then I will!" Nishio yelled and charged forward. Percy's eyes narrowed, and he blurred past the attacking Ghoul. Nishiki gasped as he spun around, gasping and slouching. "What just…happened…?"

Percy glanced back at the elder Ghoul, his eye half-lidded. Several cuts appeared on Nishiki's body. Percy skill with his kagune was great, being able to lash out with multiple tentacles in the blink of an eye. Nishiki growled, before taking off in the other direction.

Percy blinked. "Really? All that over a corpse, and you don't even take it with you?"

A whimpering sound from behind drew Percy's attention back to the Weird Smelling Ghoul. He was wearing a blue jacket, and his hood was up, and his head was down, so his face was hidden. He sounded like he was crying.

"Hey, are you all right? If you're hungry, you can eat. I don't mind."

The Ghoul's head snapped up. Left eye: kakugan. Right eye: normal. _"I'm not eating another person's flesh! I'm a human being!"_

Percy recoiled. "K…Kaneki? What happened…to your eye?"

Kaneki's own mix-matched eyes widened. "Percy? What are-? You're…a Ghoul!?"

The way he said 'Ghoul' was so accusatory, so venomous, that Percy felt his heart ache. Kaneki was supposed to his friend! Sure, Ghouls weren't exactly well-liked, and some outrage was to be expected upon the big reveal, but it still hurt to be called Ghoul like it was some disease…

"Yeah, so what? You have a kakugan, that makes you a Ghoul, too," Percy said, somewhat subdued, somewhat dark.

"No!" Kaneki stood up, panting-starving, Percy realized. "I'm human, and I won't eat other people!"

Percy cocked his head. Something very big had happened in his _friend's_ life. Not only was Kaneki in some heavy denial, but he clearly had some adverse emotion to Ghouls, and probably hadn't eaten in days.

Percy reached down, and tore off a chunk of flesh from the human corpse. Kaneki began to salivate. "You need to eat, or you'll starve."

That snapped the half-Ghoul out of his trance. "No! I won't-mmph!"

He was cut off as Percy zoomed forward, and slammed the meat down Kaneki's throat. Kaneki's mind short-circuited (or perhaps went into overdrive) at the taste of _flesh_. Beautiful, divine, rich, succulent, juicy FLESH!

"Blegh!" Kaneki shoved his hand down his throat, puking up the meat that he had just ingested. Percy's eye twitched. He had no idea what was wrong with Kaneki, or what had happened to make his eye a kakugan, but it was clear that he couldn't eat human food anymore. And he was acting like a complete idiot.

Percy kicked Kaneki in the side, sending the teen flying into some garbage cans. He grabbed the older boy's jacket, and slammed him into the alley wall. "Stupid! Don't you know what happens when a Ghoul starves? They go rabid, and uncontrollable. Twitching and burning from the inside out, _dying_ for a bite to eat! Friends and family won't matter to you, as long as you can sink your teeth into it! Is that what you want!?"

Percy was crying now, torn up on the inside at seeing his friend act this way. Kaneki was shocked at seeing Percy express such emotion. Usually, the younger boy was smiling, laughing, and had an aura around him that just made your day brighter. Now though, the boy's eyes had become black, with veins sprouting from his sea-green iris.

"Enough, Percy."

The Ghoul dropped Kaneki back to the ground, and wiped his eyes with a scowl on his face.

Yoshimura walked out of the shadows, his grandfatherly smile never leaving him. "It's been rough for you, hasn't it young man? Come with me; we'll see what we can do about that hunger of yours."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy sat in Touka's lap back at Anteiku. His sister had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he had his arms hanging on Touka's. The way the limbs were tangled, Percy's mouth was hidden from view. It would've been adorable…if not for the kakugan burning a hole through Kaneki's skull.

Percy was emotionally hurt, plain and simple. And the cause of his pain was sitting ten feet from him, drinking coffee.

"Over the years, coffee has proven to be the only thing we humans can drink alongside humans. It's not enough to keep our hunger in check, so here you go," Yoshimura reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small package. "When you run out, don't hesitate to come back for more. You're always welcome here," Yoshimura lowered his voice, "but I suggest you try to make amends with Percy. He's really fond of you, and your actions tonight have hurt him."

Kaneki felt guilt wash over him. Percy was such a good kid, cheery outgoing, childlike, everything that he (Kaneki) had said just a few minutes ago— "You're a _Ghoul!?"—_ probably shattered their friendship. All Kaneki had was Hide and Percy, so he would be damned before he lost either one.

Kaneki stood from his stool, went over to Percy and Touka, the 'shy' girl glaring vehemently at him with her own kakugan, making the teen sweat, but he ignored his flight instinct, fell to his knees, then to his face, with his hands palm-down on the wooden floor.

"I'm sorry, Percy. So very, very sorry for what I said. Please forgive me. I'll make it up to you, I swear!" Kaneki repeated things like that for what felt like hours. Percy was surprised at what his friend was doing, and a little embarrassed. "Will you stop that, already? It's creepy," the Kraken grumbled.

Kaneki looked up with a grin, but Percy jerked his head to the side, a petulant pout on his face. Touka took note of this, and fixed Kaneki with a steely-red gaze, "I think it's time you left."

The half-breed nodded and got up. He grabbed the package off the table, and stuffed it in his pocket. On his way out the door, he thanked Yoshimura, and said goodbye to Percy. The boy huffed.

Touka squeezed her brother briefly, the signal to get up, and she went after Kaneki. The half-breed blinked when Touka came out after him, and yelped when she pushed him against the wall. "Personally, I don't give a flying fuck for you, freak. But Percy sees you as a friend, so you're going to keep it that way, got it?"

"Y-y-yes ma'am."

"Good. Now get of here, and make sure you eat. If you ever come near my brother and try to eat him, I'll shove my kagune so far up your ass it'll split you in half."

Touka slung Kaneki down the steps, and the poor teenager stumbled before he was able to right himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What's happening to him, Ancient One?"

"I'm not that old," Yoshimura grumbled. He sighed, "I trust you're aware that he and Rize were involved in an accident involving steel beams?"

"Yeah. I killed the guy responsible for breaking the cables."

"Yes, well, in order to save Kaneki's life, the doctors had to implant Rize's organs inside the boy. Because he now has Ghoul organs inside of him, it appears that Kaneki is now becoming one of us."

"Is that even possible?"

"Apparently it is."

"What does this mean, Ancient One?"

Yoshimura sighed at Percy's nickname for him. Why couldn't Sally be down here right now, instead of turning in early because she felt a little under the weather? "What I think it means, Percy, is that a lot of things are about to happen…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A few days later_

Percy was walking down the street, wearing blue sweatpants, a blue jacket that was left unzipped to reveal his white t-shirt with a big blue circle in the middle. He was carrying a grocery bag in his arms, one that was filled with sugar, creamer, coffee beans, and other things for Anteiku. He was humming to himself too.

Mom was getting sick with something, but they were all confident that it was nothing a little rest, some food, and some allergy medicine couldn't fix. Mom was strong, really strong, so a little cold was nothing that she couldn't shake off.

What were Hide, Kaneki, and Nishiki doing together walking down into an alley?

Oh, how about… _NO_.

Percy crossed through lanes of traffic, making cars screech and honk in irritation. Luckily there weren't any accidents, but there were still a bunch of pissed off drivers. He made it to the other side, and sprinted around the corner…and felt his jaw unhinge. Since when was Kaneki so _brutal_?

"No way! I can't eat him, he's my friend!" aaaaaand who was he talking to?

"Y-yeah I can…he does look tasty!" Kaneki broke into a fit of giggles, before he gripped his head. "No! What the hell am I doing!?" Percy was asking himself the same thing. Then Kaneki began fidgeting and…gasping? Groaning? Moaning? Squealing? Something that made it look like he was being drowned in a sea of creepy-crawlies. Then he slammed himself into a van.

"What instincts!?...He's all mine?" Kaneki began giggling again. "You're right-maybe I should follow my instincts for once-he's like a special treat just for me!" Kaneki stumbled over to the downed Hide, and Percy took action.

He dropped his bag, the sound of which made the rabid Kaneki turn around, a deranged look on his face as drool and saliva dripped from his mouth. "Perrrrrrrcy…you smell _so goooooood!_ "

Rize's kagune burst from his back, and he sprinted at Percy, mouth agape and eyes unnaturally wide. The Kraken grimaced. Kaneki hadn't eaten, and now he was paying for it. Two tentacles burst form Percy's back, and the difference between his and Kaneki's was that Percy's were longer, a whole lot slimmer, and tapered down into an almost rapier-like point.

One tentacle zoomed at Kaneki, and the inexperienced half-breed blocked it with all three of his tentacles, which blocked his sight of Percy. The future Eye-Patch Ghoul felt something violently slam into the back of his head, and all went dark.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaneki snapped awake, and immediately tasted something off in his mouth. Sticking his fingers in, they came out covered in a red liquid. Blood. But who's—oh God, Percy!

The door to the room Kaneki was in opened, and Mr. Yoshimura entered. "Percy found you just in time, and brought you here."

"What happened to Percy!? Where's Hide!?"

"Please come with me," Yoshimura said grimly, and Kaneki felt his blood freeze. He didn't kill one of them…did he?

The One-Eyed Owl walked down the hallway, and opened up one of the doors. Inside, Kaneki was relieved to see a bandaged and breathing Hide. The teenager groaned in his sleep, before rolling over to face the windows.

"This hunger…it kept getting worse. I lost it…and went after Hide…then Percy showed up…there was blood in my mouth…oh no," Kaneki went wide-eyed and gripped Yoshimura's pinstriped vest. "Please! Please tell me Percy's alright! I was angry and-and-and I went after him, and I think he used his kagune, and I don't remember anything after that…"

Yoshimura smiled, and gently pried off Kaneki's strong hands. "Not to worry, Percy is just fine. He's down stairs right now, attending to our guests."

"But…the blood in my mouth…"

"As you know, there's only one way to satisfy a Ghoul's hunger," Yoshimura said evenly.

Kaneki broke down, lamenting about his hunger, his care for Hide, his status as a half-breed, and how no-one wanted him here. Yoshimura opened the blinds, letting golden light spill into the dark room.

"That's not true, Kaneki. You are the only one who has a place in both worlds, as a human, and a Ghoul. I promise you, you're not alone. Why don't you join us at Anteiku? We'd be happy to help you find your way, and it'll be good for you. And you'd make Percy happy as well, although I'd try avoiding Touka for a bit…she's a little mad at you."

Kaneki blinked, then he remembered Touka's threat regarding what she'd do to him if he ever tried to eat Percy. He paled, before he steeled himself. He needed to be a part of Anteiku, to make amends for what he tried to do to his friend.

Wait what about- "Ms. Sally? What does she think about me?"

Yoshimura's smile turned a bit sad. "Sally has fallen a bit under the weather, I'm afraid, so she doesn't know about recent events."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

Yoshimura smiled. "Your concern is touching Kaneki. So how about it? Will you join us?"

Kaneki wiped his eyes. "Yeah, I'd love to."

"Glad to hear it, and so will Percy. This was all his idea after all. Come on, I'll show you how to make one of our delicious cups of coffee."

As Kaneki and Yoshimura exited the room, Hide's eyes cracked open.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Elsewhere_

"Isn't the rain lovely? You know, precipitation dulls their senses…which makes this the perfect weather to work in," Kureo Mado drawled from on top of a skyscraper.

"According to the 20th ward branch's report, there was a predatory incident involving a binge eater in this building three months ago. What's interesting is that eye-witnesses claim to have seen _Jason_ around here as well," Koutarou Amon said.

"A binge eater _and_ Jason?"

"Two S-rated subjects interacting?"

"Well it's hard to say," Mado closed his eyes. "But I think it's safe to say that they weren't cordially sharing a meal." His left suddenly snapped _wide_ open, while his right became half-lidded. He whipped his head around, much like a dog tracking a scent, then he leapt over the guard railing of the stairs he was on.

"Mr. Mado!" Amon called out worriedly. The Investigator held up some kind small device that looked like some kind of wrench/plier hybrid.

"What'd I tell you? I knew the weather would work in our favor!" Amon smirked lightly at his mentor's quirks.

"As far as I'm concerned, there's only one drawback to this downpour: It's a shame we're not able to hear the scumbag's throws of death! Hahahahaha!" Even as Kureo Mado cackled madly, he still couldn't help but wonder one thing…

…where has the Kraken been for these last few months?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Sorry for the Delay, but I decided yesterday was going to be my lazy day, and I spent the better part of this morning paying Assassin's Creed, and alternating between sets of pushups and sit-ups during cut scenes and loading screens. Sue me.**_

 _ **This chapter covered episodes 1 and 2 of the anime for those that aren't familiar with it, and I think that's the style I'm going to use for the following chapters. Cover two anime episodes per chapter.**_

 _ **Some differences in canon here and there, but I'll leave it up to you readers to spot them.**_

 _ **With that, I bid thee a wonderful rest of the day, and a peaceful evening!**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	10. Kaneki Adjusting

_Kaneki Adjusting_

 _ **I return once more, and bearing good news! Since this is chapter 10, this will be the last chapter for probably a week or so, as I turn my attention back to my other stories. Leviathan will be updated twice, Backup Plan and Xenomorphic once, that way they're all kept at an even 21 chapters each.**_

 _ **Chapter 10 right now will cover episodes 3 and 4 of the anime, so that kind of gives you an idea of what to expect, but Percy's here too, so that gives you an idea of what not to expect.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or PJO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There's one thing to keep in mind: Anteiku is more than just a regular coffee house. It's a place for the Ghouls of the 20th ward to come together, a safe haven of sorts. Though there will be times when human customers come in as well, just as you and Hide did," Yoshimura said to Kaneki.

"B-but…I thought that Ghouls were supposed to hide themselves from the world? Why are we still serving humans?"

"Because we need to study them. Learn how to blend in to their society. When it comes down to it, humans are like living textbooks to us Ghouls. That said, I suppose the simplest answer is that I like them," Yoshimura said with a warm smile.

"Oh."

"Okay. Do you think you're ready to go downstairs and give Percy and Touka a hand?"

"Uh…yes sir."

Kaneki walked down the interior stairs of Anteiku, wondering just how exactly Yoshimura 'liked' humans. When he opened the door to the coffee house, he saw Touka at the cash register, and Hide talking to Percy.

"Wha-? Hide?" Kaneki said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Kaneki! Isn't it obvious? I'm here to thank Percy, since he was the one that found us after the accident," Hide said cheerily. Kaneki blinked, but when he briefly caught Touka's eye, he realized that the 'accident' was the cover story behind the fight with Nishio.

"Oh, yeah. The accident…"

"I guess he hasn't completely recovered yet," Touka said with a grin.

Hide seemed to accept that. "So buddy, how ya feelin'?"

Kaneki smiled. "Better now. This place has really helped me out."

"Well I'm glad. I heard Nishio is still in the hospital. We're lucky you found us when you did, Percy, or we would've had more than a few scrapes and scratches." The boy beamed, his eyes closing.

"Thanks again!" Hide called as he left Anteiku. After he was gone, Touka's cheery smile fell, replaced with a grim look. "Watch yourself around that guy, Kaneki. If he ever finds out about us, I'll have to kill him on the spot."

"But Touka-!"

"He already knows," Percy chirped.

"He what!?" The bell tingled, and Touka's switch was instantly flipped. "Hi! Welcome to Ant-Ryouko!"

"Hello, Touka, Percy."

Two females, clearly mother and daughter, walked in, soaking wet. Both ladies looked downtrodden, depressed, and haunted. Kaneki wondered what had happened to them, and in his thoughts, he almost missed Touka telling him to get some towels.

"I got it," Percy said, uncharacteristically serious. He placed his hands on either of the females, and suddenly, they were both dry. Only Touka seemed to realize what had just happened. The woman recovered, "Thank you, Percy. Come on, Hinami." They disappeared up the stairs.

"Are they Ghouls too?" Kaneki asked.

"That's Mrs. Fueguchi and her daughter, Hinami. We'll be looking after them for a while," Touka said.

"So, um…why are they here?"

"I'd tell you, but it'd take too long to explain." Before Kaneki could plead his case, Touka rounded on Percy, who had a strangely dark look on his face, before it cleared up. "And what did you mean by 'he already knows'!?"

Percy giggled mischievously. "Yesterday, when the Ancient One and Kaneki were talking up in Hide's room, and the Ancient One offered Kaneki a job here, Hide was awake and heard every single thing they said. So Hide knows that we're all Ghouls, and he hasn't told anybody yet."

Touka's mouth set into a squiggly line, her visible eye twitched, and her hair had somehow become frazzled. Kaneki's mouth was hanging open. Hide knew!? And he hadn't told anyone!? Was Hide going to sell Anteiku out!?

"I'm going to kill him," Touka began to storm to the door, but Percy appeared in front of it, arms wide. "No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am"

"No you're not."

"Move Percy! He'll rat us eventually, and you know that's something we can't have!"

"No he won't."

"What makes you so sure!?" Touka outraged.

"Hide is a good friend," Percy said simply.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, at the CCG_

"This map shows the current status of the 11th ward. As you can see, they're starting to demonstrate organized movement. I hate to say it, but I think it's only a matter of time before we have a war on our hands. Well that's all I've got. I don't suppose anyone else has something to report?" Itsuki Marude finished.

An Investigator raised his hand, and stood up.

"Koutarou Amon. Detective First Class. I'll start with this," the Investigator pressed some buttons, and an image of the device that Mr. Mado found earlier came up on the big screen.

"I'm sure that everyone here is aware that three months ago, the 13th ward's Jason came into contact with an S-rated binge eater from the 20th ward. This was left behind at the crime scene." The image got bigger.

"And may I ask what this is?" Marude asked.

"We believe it's a Ghoul medical apparatus. That may sound far-fetched, but we analyzed it, and discovered it was made of Quinque steel."

"Oh really?"

"While Jason's objective is currently unknown, there is one thing we do know: ever since his meeting with the S-rated binge eater, all occurrences of binge predation gave ceased." Amon sat back down, his report finished.

"It sound like there's something smoldering in the 20th ward. I can see why you were head of the class at the academy, detective. Aren't you lucky, Mado? I'm sure having such a brilliant partner allows you more time to play with your toys," Marude poked.

"Yeah, yeah lucky me," Mado drawled. "I don't mean to be rude, but do you think we could hurry and wrap this up? I can think of a million more productive ways to use my time."

Marude leaned on his fist, elbow propped on the table he was sitting at. "I'd throw you out if you weren't such a good Investigator. Alright Mado and Amon; I'm putting you in charge of the 20th ward, understood?"

"Yes sir!" Amon replied.

Marude turned serious, "I want you two to be careful down there. The 20th ward is where the Kraken resides, and you can bet your ass you'll run into him."

"Oh come now," Mado waved off. "All the Kraken does is break some Quinques and a few bones. Hardly worth considering a threat."

"Even so," Marude's voice raised. "I can't help find it unsettling that the Ghouls of this once quiet ward are suddenly becoming active, and I fear it's a harbinger of things to come, but we cannot lose sight of our purpose here at CCG. It's our sworn duty to drive every last Ghoul out of Tokyo. No matter what trials we face in the future, that will always be our top priority! So let's get focused and get to it!"

"Yes sir!"

"This meeting is now adjourned. Dismissed!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that night_

"So, Mr. Yomo…what exactly does 'food shopping' mean?" Kaneki asked nervously. Mr. Yoshimura had asked the eye-patch to go on this trip with the white-haired man, Yomo, and Percy had tagged along because he wanted to. Of course, that wasn't the real reason the young Ghoul was sitting in the backseat; he didn't want to see his mother the way she was.

Ms. Sally was getting worse, and Percy was getting scared. He was here to try and take his mind off of that.

Yomo remained silent. Percy suddenly threw his arms around the man from behind, making the car swerve a little. "Aw come on Uncle Yomo!" the boy whined. "You don't have to be a stick in the mud! Tell Kaneki where we're going!"

"Get off of me, or no blue coffee for a week."

Percy gasped, and slammed himself back into his seat.

Kaneki swore he saw a small smirk of victory on the stoic man's face, but then he blinked, and Yomo's face was back to looking like stone again.

A few minutes later, the trio of Ghouls had left Tokyo, and were making their way through the mountain. Eventually, they came across a stretch of road that ran along a cliff, and soon after found a parked car next to the guardrail. Yomo parked behind it, shut off the van, and uttered two words, "Get out."

Everyone did just that.

Kaneki leaned against the rail. "Whoa…we're so high up…"

Percy saw what he was doing and panicked, "Kaneki! Don't lean on that! You'll-!"

CREEEEEAK

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"…fall," Percy finished lamely, sweatdropping with a twitching eye.

Kaneki's survival instincts kicked in, and his kagune lashed out, digging into the cliffside and slowing his momentum. It wasn't enough to completely cushion his fall, but it dead prevent his insides from splattering everywhere. He sat up, examining his body with wonder. "I'm alive…"

"TALLY-HO!"

Kaneki looked up at the outcry, and his eye widened when Percy's butt promptly sat on it with force garnered from falling from probably 100 feet up. Kaneki's arms flailed wildly, until Percy got up. Kaneki gasped for breath. "How-why-seriously? You sat on my face!"

"Oh stop you're whining. If I was a girl, you would've enjoyed it," Percy grinned with his eyes closed.

Yomo hopped down from above. "If you had sat on Kaneki's face as a girl, Touka would flay him alive." The Raven dropped the blue travel bag by Kaneki's feet. "Pack him up."

Kaneki blinked. "'Pack him up…' Pack who up?" then he saw the dead body about ten feet away, and screamed loud enough to make Percy sway. Damned hyper-hearing. Aunt Kaya had taught him how to use his hearing to track multiple targets at once, but the downside was that loud sounds had an extremely adverse effect on the equilibrium.

"Jeez, Kaneki. It's a dead body, not a zombie."

"People die here a lot," Yomo said. "For whatever reason, they come to this spot to give up their lives."

"You mean that…the Ghouls at Anteiku eat suicide victims?"

"Better than hunting down some poor human, and ruining a family with our _own_ hands, wouldn't you say?" Percy shrugged. He grabbed the blue bag and walked over to the corpse. What happened next made Kaneki throw up.

"Alright, we need to compress him so he fits…so the legs need to be…" CRACK SCRICK…"broken at the knees…and the arms need to be…" SCRACK SCLICK…"broken at the elbow…and the head…there's not much the head offers…unless you like brains, so…" SQUELCH…"and we throw that away…"

Kaneki leaned over, and whatever he had in his stomach came flying out. He heard the sound of a zipper being undone, then the rustle of something being moved, then the sound of a zipper being redone.

"All done," Percy chirped, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

Kaneki felt his entire world perspective shift that night. Percy, sweet, innocent, little Percy…had just mutilated a corpse, defiled the dead, and stuffed a person inside of a bag with the same demeanor of one packing a bag with clothes. But the Eyepatch realized something else that night.

The Ghouls at Anteiku ate suicide victims, yes, but that made them scavengers, not hunters. Not murderers. They found already-dead bodies to feed those that didn't/couldn't hunt for themselves. Like Hinami, and Ryouko, probably even Percy **(LOL)** , and…himself.

Yeah. A life with friends, a quiet job, and the lack of guilt over killing somebody for food…yeah, Kaneki could get used to this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Touka, I would like for you and Percy to take Kaneki to get a mask tomorrow," Yoshimura smiled.

"What!? Why can't Percy do it himself? Why do I have to go, too? Tomorrow's my one day off," Touka grumbled.

"Because Kaneki would get lost on his own, and Percy is too young to go to that place without supervision." Bullshit, and both Yoshimura and Touka knew it. Percy could level that entire district. Sally's condition was steadily getting worse. Fever, coughing, barely able to eat anything…it wasn't like they could just take her to a doctor, and Mr. Fueguchi was busy right now with other issues.

"Because you liiiiiiike him," Percy cooed from behind the bar.

"What!?"

Kaneki also spluttered.

The youngest Ghoul whipped a book out from behind. _101 Ways to Tell if a Girl Likes You._ Percy flipped through a bunch of pages, "Ah! Here it is. 'One way a girl shows attraction to a boy she likes, is by arguing against someone who suggests that she and the boy of her affection should spend time together. Also, the girl will often use derogatory words to describe the boy she likes. This is called a _tsundere_ complex, and is most displayed between tomboy girls, and shy, quiet boys.'"

Percy snapped the book shut before anyone realized that he wasn't actually reading (the kanji were flying all over the place, dammit) and was just reciting something that sounded believable.

"So Kaneki, do you think Touka's pretty?" Percy asked. Touka huffed, crossing her arms and angling her body away from Kaneki, but her cracked open, and Yoshimura internally cackled alongside Percy at the thickly veiled hope in that lone blue eye. Kaneki spluttered, realizing the trap he was now caught in.

Saying no would get him punched in the face by an angry female Ghoul. Saying yes would get him punched in the face by an embarrassed female Ghoul. Kaneki internally moaned. Such misfortune!

"Um…well, you see-ah," Kaneki stuttered.

"Yes? Spit it out," Percy leered at the poor teenager. Kaneki took a deep breath, and closed his eye. When he opened it again, his optical organ was glazed over with some kind of emotion that Percy didn't recognize.

"I think Touka is a remarkable young woman. She's smart and strong, able to juggle her school life, and you, with almost effortless ease. I believe she has the skills to get into Kamii University, and handle anything that life throws at her."

Percy blinked, forming an O with his mouth. Yoshimura smiled. Touka blushed, "Idiot. J-just be at the station at 2:30 tomorrow, or I'll kill you."

"Caaaaan you feeeeeel the looooove tonight?"

"SHUT UP, PERCY!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _2:30 P.M._

 _Next day_

Kaneki was waiting at where Touka had told him to, a busy, crowded street, periodically checking his phone to stay on top of the time, wondering where the others were, when something small and light jumped on his back with a joyous shout.

Kaneki stumbled, yelping, before finally righting himself and the unwanted baggage on his back.

"Hey, Kaneki," the grinning visage of Percy appeared in Kaneki's vision. "Um, hi, Percy. Can you please get off of my back, I don't think I'm the best person to give you a piggy-back ride?"

"Nope. You're built like a stick, so this'll be the perfect time for you to start building muscle and stamina."

Kaneki looked at Touka for help, only to find none.

"If you drop him," the Ghoul warned with a narrow eye, "I'll kill you."

Kaneki resigned himself to be his friend's personal vehicle for however long it took to get to the mask shop. Why did they even need masks, anyway?

The walk was a long one, going from the bustling city, all the way to the red-light district. The pristine skyscrapers gave way to old concrete buildings, dressed in graffiti and old paint. Men and women dressed in suits and formal wear gave way to short skirts and saggy pants. Touka took all of this with a bat eyelash, Percy hummed to himself, but Kaneki was able to hear because of the proximity.

Eventually, Touka led them into an alcove on the side of a deserted street down some stairs—where Percy leapt off of Kaneki with a smile only a child could pull off—and opened the door to the HySy Art Studio. Checkered floor of dull-red and white, multiple mannequins adorned with a variety of masks, and glass cases with masks, and masks hanging on the walls, and dull light shining dimly above.

It seemed like a rather dreary place.

"We're here, Uta!" Percy practically sang. No answer. "You aren't sleeping on the job are you?"

The three looked around, Kaneki creeped out by the masks, Touka's eyes darting around to see if something caught her eye, and Percy seemed to be in a candy store. Kaneki moved over to the mannequin that was covered in a cloth, curious to see what was underneath.

He lifted the white sheet, and a blazing kakugan stared at him. "Boo."

The Eyepatch fell on his ass with a squeal. Percy cackled, and Touka smiled tiredly at the mask-maker crouching on the stool. "What are you doing, Uta?"

"Everyone needs a good scare now and then," the Ghoul answered.

"Hey, Uta!" Percy called from elsewhere in the shop.

"Ah, well hello there, Persia. I trust the mask I made for you is still in good shape?"

Percy's face fell. Touka giggled quietly. Kaneki was thoroughly confused. "It's _Percy_ ," the Ghoul grumbled. "But yeah; the mask is still going strong."

Kaneki leaned over to whisper in Touka's ear. "Who's Persia?"

Touka leaned over. "That's what we call Percy whenever I make him cross-dress. I showed some pictures to Uta, and he's always used Persia sense."

"Cross-dress?"

"Long story. I might tell you later," Touka then cleared her throat. "Kaneki, this is Uta. He'll be making your mask for you."

"Hello. I'm Uta."

"I-I'm Kaneki-"

Uta leaned in and started sniffing the half-breed. "You smell strange for a Ghoul." Kaneki leaned away, but the mask-maker grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "I've heard the Doves are on the prowl. Shame, this used to be such a quiet ward, too." He turned his red and black eyes to Percy, who was busy trying on different masks. "You've been gone for quite some time, so I know you aren't the cause of this stirring. Perhaps it was Rize, or Tsukiyama; the Gourmet seems to be getting bolder recently."

"Pardon me, but…is the 20th ward better than the others? I wouldn't know."

"Oh just try living somewhere else for a bit," Uta's eyes got bigger. "You can spend the night here if you like. Might even see some cannibalism. That's always fun."

"I-I think I'll pass, thanks."

Uta let go of Kaneki's shirt. "Sit over there, and I'll take your measurements."

Kaneki did as he was told, and Uta pulled out a large sketch pad, and began asking question after question. Most of the answers were no, but one question almost made Kaneki fall off the stool.

"Do you see Percy as good breeding material?"

Kaneki choked on his saliva. "Hell no!"

Uta scribbled something down. "Nice, nice, because Touka would kill you if you said yes."

"Everything okay over there?"

"Yes, Persia. Go back to being a fashion model."

"Stop calling me that!"

Uta casually squatted down, a mask sailing over his head and shattering against the wall. "You'd better be able to pay for that; it was one of my favorites."

"Bite me!" CRUNCH. "Ow! Touka!"

"What? You told me to."

"No I didn't! It was a figure of speech!"

"Whatever. Hey, try on this princess mask. It just matches perfectly with your personality, Persia."

"Fuck you!"

SMACK "Language. Little girls are not allowed to use such filthy words."

"ROAR!"

"Are they always like that?" Kaneki asked in disbelief.

"No," Uta said as wrapped a tape-measure around the teenager's head. "Usually they're a lot more toned down, but I suspect that with the Death Angel being the way she is now, Touka is doing everything she can to distract her baby brother from reality at the moment."

"Huh? Death Angel? Baby brother?"

"Oh, you don't know? Sally was once a SS-rated Ghoul known as the Death Angel, who led a gang called the Angels of Death, about thirteen years ago. She held the 20th ward in an iron grip for eighteen months, occasionally butting heads with some rival gangs."

"Woah. And that's Percy's mom?"

"Yep, and no, Touka is not Sally's daughter, niece, cousin, or anything really. It's just that Percy and Touka have been with each other for so long now, they've gone on to fit the roles of 'doting, overprotective big sister' and 'childish, cute little brother' perfectly."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leaving HySy Art Studios, Percy saw that the sun was almost gone, shared a look with Touka. The Rabbit saw the look in her brother's eyes, and sighed. She got down on one knee, and placed a hand on top of Percy's hair. "Just promise me you'll be careful, alright?"

Percy just grinned. Touka found it infectious, and grinned as well. She ruffled his hair a bit, before pecking his forehead. "I love you, bro."

"Love you too, sis!"

Then the Kraken was off, zigzagging between the sides of the buildings, disappearing over a rooftop to parts unknown.

Kaneki was trying to make sense of what just happened. "Where did he just go?"

"None of your business." Touka was back to being cold again. "Let's go. With the Doves snooping around, it's not safe. And I'm not going to get caught out here with _you_ as my wingman…or wingbitch in this case."

The insult was just enough to take Kaneki's mind off of why Touka was letting Percy roam free when she just said it wasn't safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, in an alley_

"Let's go, Amon. We'll check in another alley." Mado said, after cutting down a couple of Ghouls.

"Yes, sir." Koutarou said.

However, as they turned around, they saw that a Ghoul dressed in all-black had alighted atop of the pipe running across the alley. This Ghoul had a certain mask, cut to look almost like coral with a couple of eyeholes. Amon felt his pulse increase from fear and nervousness, while Mado's pupils dilated from exhilaration. "Well…if it isn't the Kraken! And where have you been for the past four months?"

" **What do you two think you're doing, screwing around in my ward?"**

Amon looked to his mentor for instructions, and Mado waved his hand forward. "Show him the thing, Amon. He _might_ be able to help us."

Amon had long ago realized not to question his mentor's insane ways, quirks, and mannerisms, and pulled out the evidence. "Have you ever seen something like this before?"

The Kraken cocked his head, and Amon clenched his Quinque case a little tighter.

" **Yeah. I've seen something like that before. Now why are you asking about it?"**

"We believe that it has some connection to Jason, who we believe is somewhere in the 20th ward."

" **Jason? As in the 13** **th** **ward's Jason?"**

"That's correct."

" **So you believe that the S-rated Jason is somewhere in my ward, and I've allowed someone like that monster to roam freely? Here's a theory: Jason was only here for the Binge Eater, and now that I've killed the Binge Eater, he's up and left for another ward."** The Kraken stood up, easily balancing on the pipe. **"I'll give you one warning. Leave my ward, take your investigation elsewhere, or I'll come after you."**

The Kraken leapt off the pipe, zooming over the rooftops and into the night.

Amon let loose a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He put the evidence back into his interior pocket. "So…that was the S-rated Kraken? What was that all about, Mr. Mado?"

The Investigator started walking away. "Kraken fancies himself somewhat of a vigilante around these parts. As laughable as that is, he has a track record of fighting off Investigators who are fighting Ghouls, and putting down some of his own species who are causing trouble."

"Do you really think he killed the Binge Eater, sir?"

"Oh, he most likely did. The amount of attention the Binge Eater was attracting probably forced his hand. I also believe that he's just finding out about Jason being in town, which raises the question of where in the hell he's been recently."

"What do we do now, sir?"

"We take a quick break in our Investigation. Now that Kraken has a scent, you can be sure that he'll be looking for Jason, too. The amount of noise that'll make will undoubtedly lead us to our target, and once the dust settles, you and I will finish off whichever is left standing, and add two new Quinques to the armory."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _The next morning_

Everything was running smoothly at Anteiku. Percy, Touka, and Kaneki were handling tables, while Kaya and Enji handled the bar. Hinami and Ryouko entered, "Good morning everyone! I hope you all have a great day!"

"Hinami!" Percy zoomed forward at inhuman speed, and the Ghoul-girl's eyes lit up, "Percy!"

One collided into the other in a monstrous hug. Everyone smiled at the cute little display, while Kaneki was highly confused. Just how many people did Percy know!?

"Alright you two, that's enough. You can play together later. Percy, you have work. Hinami, you have your studies. Come along now," Mrs. Fueguchi smiled. The children disentangled with a pout, and the ladies disappeared up the stairs.

Then the good mood was ruined when Percy's nose detected a scent that made want to kill something really bad. The bell tingled, and a man in a red suit with blue hair walked in. The man spread his arms wide, and took a very deep breath, "My, my, what an aroma…"

He stood regularly again, running his hand over his eyes, before holding it out to the side. "All of a sudden I feel…much more relaxed."

Percy's eye twitched. "You have some really big balls, coming into Anteiku, you Gourmet fag."

Touka was too angry to chastise her little brother, as were Enji and Kaya, but Kaneki was once more confused, and a little horrified with Percy's language. You don't just call somebody a fag! That's just so insensitive…

"Oh come now, Percy, it was just an honest mistake, if I had known that the Death Angel was your mother-" Tsukiyama was cut off by the Kraken grabbing him by the lapel, and bringing them almost nose-to-nose.

"You. Tried. To. _Eat me!"_

The Gourmet chuckled nervously. "All water under the bridge, mon chéri. Now, this is a place of business, not an arena."

"Oh yeah?" Percy curled his free-hand into a fist. "Then how about a knuckle sandwich with a side of foot-in-your-ass, on the house?"

"Easy Percy," Kaya said. "Calm down, and let's see what he wants."

Percy wanted to blow a hole through this asshole's head, but he listened to his Aunt Kaya nonetheless. Tsukiyama coughed as he stood back up, straightening his clothes out. He sniffed a few times, "Is Yoshimura around?"

" _No._ If that's all you came for, then the door is right behind you."

Tsukiyama ignored Percy, and locked his eyes on Kaneki. "My, who's this sweet morsel?" the Gourmet glided over to the frozen Eyepatch. "You're new here. What's your name?"

"Um…It's Kaneki,"

"Oh?" Tsukiyama leaned in close, taking a whiff. Kaneki freaked out. " _Se magnifique."_

"Quit smelling him like he's a girl, and either order something, or get the hell out," Percy growled.

"You lack so much tact, mon chéri." Tsukiyama placed a hand on Kaneki's shoulder and leaned in close, his blue eyes narrowed like a serpent's. "I look forward to trying some of your delicious coffee. Give Yoshimura my best."

He _sensually_ slid his hand off of Kaneki's shoulder. Tsukiyama walked out the door, saying some things in fluent French. "Ciao then. So you soon… _my sweet Kaneki_ ," he said under his breath as the door shut.

Percy rounded on the Eyepatch, kakugan _blazing_. "Unless you want to end up as little chunks of seasoned meat all over another Ghoul's plate, you will _stay away_ from Tsukiyama," then he stormed up the stairs.

Kaneki was pale and spasming, caught completely off-guard by the hostility his little friend displayed just now, and his _green_ kakugan. "W-what just h-happened?"

Touka looked worriedly up at the ceiling, before following after Percy. Kaya's eyes darkened, and it was Enji that answered.

"A few years ago, Tsukiyama came in here, and did the exact same thing to Percy as he did to you. We all told Percy to stay away, but he didn't listen. He found out why the hard way. He met up with Tsukiyama later that day, and they got to know each other better. To Percy, Tsukiyama was a nice, caring, individual, so when he invited Percy to dinner, there were no objections.

"See, Tsukiyama is part of a Ghoul sect called the 'Ghoul Restaurant.' It's just a fancy name for a bunch of Ghoul's that think they're high-society, and get a real kick out kidnapping humans and Ghouls, and putting them in an arena with one executioner or another. Once the human or Ghoul has been killed, the chefs flay up the corpse into a five-star meal, and serve it up."

Kaneki was an interesting shade of green right now.

"That almost happened to Percy, except his mom came barreling through the roof before anything could happen. Percy locked himself in his room for days after that, embarrassed at what had happened, angry at himself, and really upset that he had to be saved. He doesn't like having to be saved."

Kaneki nodded, filing that away for later. Next question: "Why was his kakugan green? I thought every one was supposed to be red."

"Percy's a special case among Ghouls, and that's as much as you're going to get out of me, greenhorn. So if you want to find out, I suggest you ask Percy yourself, just don't expect anything positive; he's pissed off right now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A few days later_

Kaneki really hated the fact that he was a real gullible guy. Against all warning and advice, he had fallen for Tsukiyama's ruse, and now he was about to be flayed alive by some fatass by the name of 'Little Taro.' A misnomer if there ever was one.

Kaneki had managed to draw out his kakugan, increasing his strength enough to where he was able to land a solid blow to the behemoth's chin, but that was the extent to his power. The drugs in his body prevented him from using his kagune, and he was so tired right now.

He looked up, seeing Taro raise his oversized saw/cleaver blade high.

' _Percy…I'm sorry I didn't listen to you…'_

BOOM

A blur ripped through the domed ceiling, crashing down behind the mutant man…who split in half with a shower of blood. The crimson liquid washed over Kaneki like a flood, making the half-breed queasy. The last thing he saw before he fainted like a bitch, was a boy dressed in an all-black ensemble, with a coral-like mask on his face…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Kraken slowly swiveled his head around, taking in the terrified visage's of all the 'high-society' Ghouls. He heard the things they whispered, and it almost filled him with savage glee. Almost.

"The Kraken…"

"Guardian of the 20th ward…"

"S-rated…"

"Why's he here…?"

" **What's going to happen here is simple: Kaneki leaves with me, all of you go back to your pathetic lives, and delusions. Failure to do so will result in you being my next meal, got it?"** His distorted voice carried all over the restaurant, heard by all. A black-and-green tentacle slid out from under his jacket, and tenderly wrapped around Kaneki's unconscious body.

The Kraken stared at the open-mouthed form of the Gourmet. **"If you come after this boy, Tsukiyama, I will** _ **devour you**_ **."**

Then the Ghoul was gone in a blur.

As the others scrambled away in terror like cockroaches under a rock, Tsukiyama's teeth grinded together, the lone eyehole in his mask shrouding his eye in shadow. _'Damn you, Percy! Your damnable mother robbed me of you, and now you've robbed me of Kaneki! You will pay—I'll make you pay! Just wait and see, boy, just you wait and see…'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **OOOO, ominous, very ominous. As promised, episodes 3 and 4 of the anime.**_

 _ **Also as promised, this will be the last chapter for awhile, as I'll be working on my other stories. Fret not, however, as we're all aware that when I push myself I can crank out almost daily chapters, so I'll probably be back on this by next week.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	11. Angel's Swan Song

_Angel's Swan Song_

 _ **Told you it'd be out today. Sorry for the cliffhanger in**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, but it gives you something to look forward to in the future.**_

 _ **Some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that school starts back up for me next Monday, so updates will get fewer and farther between. However, the good news is that my school somehow found the money to get**_ _ **every student**_ _ **a new Chromebook, and since I typically finish all of my assignments within the first 20-30 minutes of class, that gives me some writing time during the day. Not as much now, but some.**_

 _ **In this chapter, characters will die, and you'll probably hate me for it, but I think it will add some depth to Percy's character, as well as begin the road to becoming a kakuja.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaneki was being dragged across the ground by some unseen force, a trio of superimposed clown masks floating above him. Deranged, maniacal laughter could be heard all around.

Kaneki reached out desperate to find something to hold onto. Then Tsukiyama appeared, dressed in the red suit from their first meeting. Kaneki smiled, elated to see a familiar, friendly face, but his expression turned to horror when the Gourmet changed forms, his suit turning to white, and his crescent-moon mask covering his face.

"My sweet Kaneki," Tsukiyama purred. He surged down, mouth agape, "Bone apple tea!"

BAM!

The Gourmet was knocked somewhere off to the side, and was replaced with a boy dressed in black shoes, capris, jacket, gloves, and coral-like mask that covered his entire face.

" **Why do you keep pretending to be human!?"**

Gigantic octopus tentacles, black in color with green suckers, erupted from behind the boy. Kaneki screamed as they crashed down on top of him…and he bolted upright on the couch he was sleeping on, breathing heavily.

Some nightmare.

Kaneki rubbed his eyes with hid hand, rattled by what the boy had said. 'Why do you keep pretending to be human!?' Kaneki wasn't pretending to be anything. He was a Ghoul _and_ a human. He had a kagune, and he needed human flesh, but he wouldn't-couldn't-kill another person for food.

Yeah…Kaneki was a hybrid. And nothing would change that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A few hours later_

 _Anteiku_

Kaneki was cleaning a cup, listening to what the other Ghouls in the coffee shop were saying.

"Haven't you heard? Another Dove's moved in."

"I'm scared to go outside by myself now."

"Don't you miss the good ol' days when the 20th ward was safe?"

"Do you think the Kraken's going to do anything about it?"

"I don't know. He might be the whole reason the Doves are here."

"Well, whatever, the reason, I just hope that Kraken doesn't escalate things any further."

Kaneki had to wonder if that boy from the other night, and his dream, were the Kraken. From what the half-breed had gathered, this Kraken was somewhat of an icon among the Ghouls of the 20th ward. Kaneki resolved himself to ask about sometime in the future.

Then Yoshimura and Ms. Kaya came out of the Staff Only door.

"Kaneki. That's enough for today. Kaya will take over from here." Yoshimura said.

"Oh, o-okay. What about Percy and Touka?"

"Touka's not feeling to good, and Percy is trying to read with Hinami. Why don't you go pay them a visit? They're only one floor above us," Yoshimura smiled, pointing up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaneki looked at the plaque beside the door, finding it strange that there was another name on it. "Ayato…Kirishima?" he wondered aloud. He was about to knock on the door, when Mrs. Fueguchi opened it from the other side, causing Kaneki to gasp in surprise.

"Kay, I'm leaving. Thank you again for keeping an eye on them. Percy, Hinami, be good kids and do whatever Touka says, alright?" Ryouko turned around gasping in shock at seeing Kaneki right behind her.

"Oh, pardon me," the Eye-Patch said after regaining his bearings. Ryouko smiled warmly, and Kaneki moved to the side allowing her to pass. After she left to do whatever she was supposed to do, Kaneki entered Touka's room.

He found the girl herself leaning up against the counter of a personal kitchen, watching over Hinami and Percy, who were sharing a pillow at a low-rise table, both of them hunched over a book. Hinami was writing things down in a journal, and Percy was squinting his eyes, looking extremely frustrated.

Come to think of it, why couldn't Percy and Hinami read?

"Did you want something?" Touka broke Kaneki out of his thoughts.

"Um…Mr. Yoshimura said that you weren't feeling well, and said that I should come check on you."

"Well, did you bring me anything?"

"Nothing. Sorry," Kaneki said dejectedly. Why didn't he think to bring anything?

"Aaaaaah! This sucks!" Percy flopped down on the table, causing Hinami to giggle, and Touka to sigh. "These words won't be still, everything's spinning, and my eyes hurt!"

"Dyslexia?" Kaneki asked.

"Yeah. Hasn't been able to read coherently, ever."

"Does he at least know the alphabet, and how to pronounce words?"

Touka looked at the teenager with a half-lidded eye. "I said he's dyslexic, not an infant. _Of course_ he knows the alphabet, and how to pronounce words. The problem is that the letters are fluctuating too much for him to see clearly."

"Oh," Kaneki said slowly. How do you help someone read, when they can't read properly, other than by reading for them?

"Hey, Kaneki, what's this word say?" Hinami asked. Kaneki took a look at the word. "That's 'orange osmanthus.'"

"Is that another flower?"

"Mm-hm."

Percy drummed his fingers on the table, dejected at his lack of reading coherency. As cool as it was to make water do what he wanted, it sucked being only able to read Ancient Greek. Where exactly do you get a book written in Ancient Greek while in the heart of the East?

Kaneki took note of this, and decided to try out the method his mom used to help him get over his own dyslexia. "Hey Percy? Try focusing on a single word, really hard. Imagine it being still, and force your mind to get it right."

Percy looked confused, but gave it a try anyway. He picked up the book he and Hinami were reading, and looked at a single kanji. He did what Kaneki said, imagining it being still. To his surprise, the kanji actually came into focus. It vibrated, like it was trying to move, but Percy could actually read it.

It was the kanji for death.

Touka sighed. "I'll make us some coffee."

"Hold on, I'll do it. If you're sick, then you need to rest," Kaneki protested.

"I'm fine. Just ate too much is all."

"Ate too much of what?" Kaneki asked before he could stop himself. Honestly, he didn't want to know. Then the doorbell rang. Percy sniffed the air, before grinning mischievously. "Hey Touka~" he sang, "it's your girlfriend~."

Hinami giggled, while Kaneki blinked, and Touka scowled, but also felt worry. What was Yoriko doing here? The Ghoul walked to the door, opening it up. Sure enough, the orange-et was there with a pot. That smelled like charbroiled feces.

"Yoriko, hi. What are you doing here?"

The human brightened at seeing her friend. "I came by to check on you. You weren't at school today, so I wanted to make sure you're alright. Also-"

Kaneki stood out from behind the wall, and Yoriko flushed. "Touka! Don't tell me you two -"

"Yep." Percy's voice rang out from within. "They were doing all sorts of things to each other. Front, back, reverse, and the smell. God, it smells like animals in heat back here."

Touka blushed furiously, as did Kaneki and Yoriko.

"Excuse me, I have to go murder my brother real fast. Be right back." Touka shut the door with a strained smile, and not even a second later, Yoriko heard the sounds of furious combat, yelping, something being broken, and a chicken squawking, before the door was thrown open and Percy came running out, and dove behind Yoriko.

Touka was approaching, kitchen knife in hand. "Come out, come out, dear brother. I only want to kill you slowly."

Yoriko blanched, not sure if her friend was joking or being serious. "Uh…I made these dumplings for you, but since it looks like you're busy, I'll just leave them here." Yoriko set down her pot, cast a look at Percy that said she was wondering what kind of flowers he would want for his funeral, and scurried down the stairs.

Percy gulped when a knife was placed at his throat.

"Now, now, baby brother. Where did you learn about such mature things?"

"Nishio told me about a year ago. I caught him and Kimi at a bad time, and he spilled everything about the birds and the bees."

Touka's eye twitched with a disbelieving look. Her beloved brother had known about sex since he was twelve? No! He was supposed to be cute and innocent forever! Uncorrupted by the ways of errant females for eternity! Never to have a girlfriend, because all of those hussies were not worthy of her Percy!

Then the most horrendous coughing fit ever to grace sentient ears resounded from upstairs.

Percy's lip trembled, and before Touka could do anything, the demigod bolted away. The Rabbit sighed dejectedly. Sally didn't seem to be getting any better, even with all of the food that had been forced down her throat. Like everyone else, Touka was _deeply_ concerned for both Sally, and her son.

The effect this was having on Percy's psyche-the effect it would have if Sally didn't pull through…Touka felt sorry for any Investigator still in the 20th ward if that happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

If anyone actually managed to find the Kraken, they would've found him at the top of the Tokyo Tower. Like, balancing-on-the-steeple top of the Tower. He wasn't flying, so Zeus technically couldn't do anything, but Percy wasn't worried his uncle throwing a hissy fit; he was trying to get his mind off of his mother.

Tsukiyama wasn't finished with trying to get Kaneki, that was certain. The Gourmet was most likely planning out some sick, twisted plan that would get the Eye-Patch as his next meal. Knowing him, it wouldn't be so simple as to follow Kaneki into a dark alley and jump the poor guy, it would probably along the lines of Kaneki eating one person, while Tsukiyama ate Kaneki. Blue-haired bastard was screwed in the head like that.

The Doves hadn't done anything too rash, aside from two more had entered the fray. Since these newcomers didn't have attaché cases, they weren't anything to be worried over. The biggest threat was Kureo Mado, and whoever the new guy was. Speaking of Mado, that lead to the reason of why they were in the first place.

The 13th ward's Jason. An S-rated Ghoul that had almost every screw in head loose. Jason was a humongous meat-mountain, known for his Jason Voorhees-like mask, bulbous nose, and wearing a suit. He also had a blue and red Rinkaku that looked a couple of Zigzagoons. For some reason, he was in the 20th ward, and the Doves had a device that belonged to Jason.

A device that Mr. Fueguchi could make.

Then everything became clear. Jason _was_ here for Rize, and in his confrontation with her, he must've lost his tool. Now he was sticking around the 20th ward because he had probably strong-armed Mr. Fueguchi into making a new tool, and Hinami and Ryouko were here because Jason had come and scared them away.

A plan began to form in Percy's head. Bottom line, he needed to get Asaki out of here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that night_

Percy was finally returning home after the day. He had given his warning to Mr. Fueguchi, and now it was all up to the man to get out of there in time. The demigod walked up the steps to Anteiku, and saw the most curious thing by the door.

A note with a rose.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsukiyama was playing the piano, which sounded more like a pipe organ, the girl Kaneki was talking to earlier tied up and unconscious on the altar, with candles lighting the insides of the church. He heard the door open and then shut.

"Ah, Kaneki. Do like Beethoven?" Then he looked over his shoulder. _"Fils de pute!_ What are _you_ doing here, Kraken!?"

" **Kaneki will not be coming, and you will not be leaving here alive."**

Tsukiyama paled, before he regained his bravado. "Ah, but mon chéri, you are a fool to challenge me alone. My Koukaku is naturally superior to your Rinkaku." A blue thing sprouted from the Gourmet's right shoulder blade, wrapping loosely around his arm once, twice, three times, before extending forward, becoming a massive blade.

It looked like a giant corkscrew with a knife.

"I admit, I'm surprised that you of all people are here, but no matter. You can take the place of Kaneki this evening. Besides, you've always smelled so much more appetizing, _MY DEAR PERCY!"_

Tsukiyama leapt high into the air, bringing his kagune down hard upon the ground. Kraken easily avoided the blow, but the Gourmet continued his assault, creating a game of violent tag. Kraken leapt from pew to pew, and Tsukiyama destroyed every single one with a single swipe of his Koukaku.

Kraken created some distance, and was able to unleash two of his tentacles. They zoomed forward, but Tsukiyama parried them upwards, before slicing them apart. The severed ends dispersed into black mist with green highlights, before that too disappeared.

"See, my sweet Percy? Your kagune may have superior flexibility than mine, but that also means that its RC cells are softer, and when compared to my heavier, sturdier kagune, they might as well be butter!"

Tsukiyama resumed his attack, but Kraken was not making it easy. He began leaping from place to place, blurring about the churches supports beams like a pinball. The Gourmet's eyes darted around, following every movement-THERE!

Tsukiyama raised his kagune just in time to deflect the tentacles that were shot after him. Before he could slice them apart, they speedily retracted, and Kraken fell back to the ground, four tentacles splayed out behind him. Tsukiyama grinned; this was going to be easy.

The older Ghoul charged forward. He leaned to the side, slicing upward, leaned to the other side and slashed down, spun around, slicing apart the other two tentacles, then he reared back and plunged his giant blade right through Kraken's torso, just below the trachea and above the naval.

"Now, then," Tsukiyama purred. "If you want to live through a blow like that, you'll have to eat the girl over there. And while you do that, I'll be feasting on you, Sweet Percy."

Kraken shakily reached up, and gripped Tsukiyama's suit with surprising strength for one bleeding out. The Gourmet raised a brow.

" **I win."**

Tsukiyama didn't even have time to blink, as with the extremely close proximity he had no time to properly react, as all twelve of Kraken's tentacles burst out, spearing the Gourmet through every vital organ short of the head. The tentacles extended, carrying their target with them, before arching in the air, and forcing the barely-alive Ghoul three feet into ground of the church.

Kraken retracted his tentacles, letting the blood of his opponent fill his mouth, before they disappeared into his back. He walked forward, almost giggling at the tickling sensation of his regeneration healing his wounds.

Tsukiyama was unconscious as his body desperately repaired the massive damage. Too bad. Kraken had promised his enemy that he would devour him if he went after Kaneki, and that was exactly what Tsukiyama had done. And now the Gourmet would pay with his life.

But not here. Not in this church. Kraken didn't know if the Christians held the same truth as the Greeks, but he didn't care. Enough damage had come to this hallowed ground, without murder and cannibalism being committed within its walls.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Since Percy had only moved the note instead of destroying it, Kaneki eventually found it by himself, just in time for a weakened Nishio to knock on Anteiku's door. The two of them followed Tsukiyama's directions, but when they entered the church, all they found was destruction, and Kimi tied up, asleep, on the altar. While relived that the girl was safe and unharmed, both were wondering the same thing: what had happened here, and where was Tsukiyama?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _The next day_

Percy still hadn't returned to Anteiku, but everyone insisted that Kaneki shouldn't worry. Percy did stuff like this all the time. The boy didn't like to be chained down, and would often just wander the city, or start free-running across rooftops. Kaneki expressed worry over the Doves and other Ghouls, but his concern was met with laughter, snorts, and smirks.

Was Kaneki missing something here?

Nishio had been convinced by Yoshimura and Kaneki to start work at Anteiku, and the Ghoul agreed. This fiasco with Kimi had opened his eyes, and he needed to start toning things down if he wanted to keep her and himself safe, unharmed, and alive.

Currently, we find Hide, Kaneki, and Nishio talking, with Hinami abruptly standing up, her emotions boiling over.

"It's not fair! I just…I want to see Daddy!" The girl sobbed once, before making a break for the stairs, where she ran into someone, before brushing past them and up to her room.

"What's wrong with Hinami?" Sally asked, slightly congested. Everyone's eyes widened at seeing the Death Angel out and about, even Hide looked surprised, because he hadn't seen Ms. Jackson in days, and Nishio had been told the woman was sick with something.

Sally calmly walked past everyone, smiling faintly at seeing Kaneki and Nishio in waiter's uniforms. She sat down at the table with Ryouko, and the woman regained her bearings after seeing her long-time friend not bedridden.

Hide panicked about being late for something and quickly bolted.

Taking a deep breath, Ryouko told an abridged version of what was going on. How she and Hinami had to leave Asaki by himself, how her husband had been forcefully re-involved with certain outside influences, and how there hadn't been any word from him for days now.

Sally nodded, and gripped Ryouko's hands tightly. "Don't worry. I need some fresh air anyway. I'll go see how he's doing. You just be there for your daughter."

Ryouko began to protest, but Sally was having none of that. "Relax, I need to get out and stretch my legs, and since you're so worried about Asaki, why not kill two birds with one stone? I don't have to order you to stand down, do I?"

Ryouko blushed slightly at the friendly jab to her past, but she desisted all the same. Sally grinned slightly, nodded at Irimi, congratulated the boys on their new jobs, and exited Anteiku. No one saw her irises burn a very faint gold before fading back to normal.

"What did she mean by 'order you'?" Nishio asked. Ryouko looked away with an embarrassed look. Irimi smirked, gaining a slightly sadistic glint in her eyes.

"Back when the Angels of Death were running the 20th ward, Ryouko used to be Sally's lieutenant."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Fueguchi Household_

The Fueguchis lived in a two-story building made out of corrugated metal, next to an elevated highway, with their backyard looking a car graveyard.

Asaki was inside, packing his things. He had finished Yamori's tool, and now it was time to get the fuck out of here, and meet up with Kraken at the designated rendezvous spot. The Fueguchi patriarch couldn't help but marvel at how different Percy and Kraken were.

There was a rumbling sound, and Asaki's heart fell when a familiar scent entered his nose. "Yamori…"

The behemoth of a Ghoul was standing at the door, hands in his pockets. "Hey, Doc," Yamori said lazily, "did you finish what I asked for?"

"I-it's on the table."

Yamori's eyes glided downwards. "Ahhh!" he picked up the tool, clanking in open a few times. "Remarkable craftsmanship," his pupils dilated, " _she won't stand a chance against this!"_

Asaki gulped. "Now would you p-please get out of my office?"

Yamori clanked his tool, before looking at the scared man. "What? Don't like my company?" Asaki stayed silent. "As you wish, then." Yamori made to walk for the door, but he stopped, "Oh hey, Doc? I don't want to be a nuisance so I'll get out of your hair, but I gotta ask," Jason leaned down, his face becoming deranged, _"when did you become a flunky for the humans!?"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Investigators Kureo Mado and Koutarou Amon approached the Fueguchi residence, following up on a lead. Imagine their surprise when a man came flying out of the wall with a gaping hole in his abdomen…still alive.

Ghoul.

"My, my, when Kraken tipped us off about this place, I honestly thought he was selling out one of his own," Mado observed. "In reality, it seems that the little bastard was actually setting up a confrontation between us and you, Jason. I guess it stands to reason that Mr. Fueguchi here didn't get out in time, and is now a victim of circumstance. How unfortunate."

"Kraken, you say? I guess I'll have to pay that little runt a visit for making my schedule so much tighter. Oh well, I've got just a little time to spare, so I'll entertain you for a few minutes."

The Investigators drew out their Quinques, Mado's being a blue-and-green blade, and Amon's being a gigantic club-like thingy.

Then a hail of RC spikes came flying out of nowhere.

Both parties leapt away to avoid the swarm of killer projectiles. When it stopped, and everyone could catch their breath, Yamori, Mado, and Amon's eyes widened at seeing the white-cloaked Death Angel standing above the Fueguchi Ghoul, wings dancing about behind her.

 **[Tokyo Ghoul - Licht und Schatten – Yutaka Yamada]**

"Oh my God," Yamori gasped. "The Death Angel. You've been on my hit list for a while now, sweetheart. Hey, boys! How about a temporary truce? You two and me against the Angel here?"

"Sounds good to me!" Mado cackled, the opportunity to turn this one into a Quinque far too good to pass up.

 **[0.25]**

The three temporary allies charged forward, respective weapons ready for battle. Sally grabbed Asaki, and leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the three attacks that cracked the ground where she once was. Her wings crystalized and fired.

The three enemies easily leapt to the sides to avoid, all three going in for a charge.

The Death Angel side-stepped Amon, blocked Mado, parried Jason, blocked Amon, parried Mado, and was too slow to do anything besides tank Jason's kagune. Sally was thrown back, but she dug her wings into the ground and halted herself.

She needed to buy time. Time for Asaki to heal and join the fight.

She unleashed another stream of RC spikes, but Jason advanced through the storm, Mado wildly swiped his Quinque, and Amon spun his in an impossible circle, forming a shield of moving Quinque.

The Death Angel clashed with her fellow Ghoul, kagune against kagune. Sparks erupted from where the wings and spikey tentacles clashed, but neither was able to gain any ground, until Mado came flying in from above, slicing off one of Sally's arms.

She grit her teeth, and leapt backwards, avoiding the swipe aimed at her head. She jumped up, and alighted on the roof of the Fueguchi home, clutching the stump of her arm. It had been severed at mid-bicep.

 **[1.32]**

This was not good. Asaki was still down, her arm was missing, and she was getting tired. Whatever had been plaguing her these past few days was now combining with the natural Ukaku stamina-lack, and it was taking a heavy toll. Escape wasn't an option, not in her condition. She wouldn't be able to outrun any of these men if her life depended on it, which it did.

Was this it then? Was this going to be her last battle?

 **[1.55]**

No. She still had too much to live for. Herself, Anteiku, and herself. Sally's life wasn't fulfilled yet; she hadn't seen her Percy get married yet, she hadn't seen Touka get into University, she hadn't seen her grandchildren, she hadn't seen Ayato come back yet, and she hadn't seen her son in too long of a time.

 **[2.17]**

"Huuuurrragh!" Amon appeared behind Sally, and landed a heavy blow to her back. She went flying off the roof, but she used that newfound momentum to spin and avoid Mado's swipe, and twist to avoid Jason's double overhead slam.

She had to bring her wing up to protect herself from Amon's attack, which blocked her vision. Sally was surprised when the pressure on her wing suddenly lifted, only to gasp as Mado's Quinque sliced it off. The severed bit dispersed into useless RC cells.

 **[2.39]**

Sally blanched when Jason's kagune tore a hole through her stomach, but she crystalized her remaining wing and made Jason back off with a hail of RC fire. Amon and Mado swooped in for a joint attack, but Sally dove to the side, and fired off some more spikes.

She cursed herself. The trajectory was all wrong, and she completely missed. Sally just wasted a good amount of valuable energy. The Death Angel pulled all of the RC cells from her wing stump into her remaining wing, making it get bigger.

 **[3.03]**

Sally stood strong, ready to finish this. Her opponents closed in on her like a pack of wolves going in for the kill. Jason was in the middle, flanked by the two Doves. Asaki was lying in a pool of blood, and one didn't have to be a doctor to see that the man had succumbed to his injuries.

The Angel of Death reached up and took off her mask. No point in hiding her face now. Jason's eyes widened, Mado's became narrowed, and Amon looked genuinely surprised and shocked.

A blazing kakugan stared defiantly at the wolves, ready to go down with a fight.

Sally's legs bent, and she exploded forward. Her right arm was extended, intent on slamming into Jason's face, with her left wing crystalized and ready for defense. She didn't expect Jason to suddenly disappear in a burst of speed. She didn't expect Mado and Amon to crisscross in front of her face, and use the temporary confusion to slice off her arm and slam her in the gut with enough force to make her cough blood.

Amon spun around, and launched Sally across the yard, where she skidded over to the Fueguchi.

Sally coughed up more blood, and widened her eyes when she saw Jason sailing down from above, kagune pointed down. She weakly raised her wing up to protect herself, but Jason's Rinkaku crashed right through it.

 **[4.05]**

That was it. Jason tore his kagune out of the Death Angel, and her wing dispersed. Her kakugan faded, leaving only her teary eyes. Jason glanced at the approaching Investigators, and jumped away. Sally's biggest regret?

Not holding her son one more time.

' _Goodbye, Percy…'_

 **[End OST]**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy was back at Anteiku, with him and Touka taking orders, and Kaneki and Nishio working the bar. Tsukiyama's body would never be found, because there was almost nothing left of it. Just some bits of uneaten flesh, and a bloody skeleton. God that guy had tasted disgusting, but he wouldn't be bothering anybody anymore.

Percy noticed a distinct lack of a certain scent, but what was interesting was that scent was all over the coffee shop. With the large amount of people in right now, the many conversations provided the perfect opportunity to ask Kaneki this question.

"Hey, Kaneki, where's Mom?"

The Eye-Patch handed the Kraken a tray with multiple cups of fresh brew on it. "Oh, she went out probably three hours ago to check on Hinami's dad."

CRASH

All conversation stopped dead when Percy dropped the tray, breaking the cups, and spilling the coffee all over the floor. Kaneki yelped in surprise, Nishio's eyes twitched at seeing all of his hard work end up as puddle on the floor he just cleaned, and Touka raised a brow. It wasn't like Percy to drop things like that…

"What did you say?" the demigod squeaked.

"He said that your mom went to go check on the kid's dad. Now use this towel and clean up that mess while I remake everyone's order," Nishio growled, justifiably ticked off. Percy just stood there seemingly ignoring the offered towel. The chestnut-head began to steadily grow angrier at the apparent lack of disrespect, and Touka stepped in before something could happen. There were only Ghoul customers in right now, but didn't mean anything; this was still a place of business.

"Come on, Percy. You made the mess, you clean it up-"

" _Breaking news: at twelve o'clock P.M. today, it was confirmed by CCG Investigators that the SS-rated Death Angel, aka Sally Jackson, best known for leading the Ghoul-gang Angels of Death, a gang that once terrorized the 20_ _th_ _ward, is dead._

" _Sources say that the Death Angel showed up at the beginning of a confrontation between the 13_ _th_ _ward's Jason, and two unnamed Investigators. The two parties teamed up against the Death Angel, and after a brutal confrontation that left one Asaki Fueguchi dead, the SS-rated Ghoul was killed as well."_

" _ **We now return to your regularly scheduled program."**_

Everyone's eyes were glued to the TV as the computerized voice relayed the information. After the broadcast ended, in an almost comical fashion, all heads were slowly turned to Percy.

While the Kraken's identity remained largely unknown, it was no secret among the Ghouls that Sally was the Death Angel, and that Percy was her son.

Speaking of the boy, his head was bowed, making his bangs hide his eyes. His fists were clenched tight enough that blood dripped from his fingers. His shoulders trembled slightly, whether from rage or sadness was anyone's guess.

Touka reached out slowly. "Percy…"

The demigod ran away before she could touch him, slamming the door almost off its hinges. Touka blinked, worry etching across her face. She turned to the stunned patrons. "Everyone out, now! We're officially closed!"

The assembled Ghouls had the common courtesy to scramble the hell out of there.

"Uh…what happens now?" Kaneki asked.

"We pray that Percy doesn't do something stupid. Nishio, clean this up; Kaneki, go break this to Ryouko and Hinami. Best to get it over with now, before they find out in a worse way," Touka said quietly. The boys didn't argue, quickly getting to work on their assigned tasks.

Nishio and Kaneki didn't know _what_ Percy was, beyond being a Ghoul, and Touka been brushing up on her Greek mythology. Poseidon was the god the sea, as well as storms and earthquakes. With what just happened, the Rabbit was almost quivering at the thought of the destruction Percy's rampaging emotions would cause.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaneki knocked on the Fueguchi's door, and entered at the feminine shout of 'come in.' Ryouko and Hinami were piled onto the couch together, with mother reading a book to her daughter.

"Hey, Kaneki!" Hinami said brightly, but her smile faded when she saw the defeated look on her brother-figure's face. Ryouko's heart began to constrict.

"Um…" Kaneki started, before he paused and took a deep breath. He looked at girls with such a sadness in his eye, that both of them started tearing up.

"Asaki Fueguchi has passed away."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Touka knocked a few times on Percy's door, before gingerly opening it. Her brother was still in there, because she could smell him, meaning he hadn't rushed out yet. Actually, the air was tinged with a salty smell. Percy was crying. And rightfully so.

Touka traversed the pitch-black room, easily navigating through the darkness. Percy had his knees hugged to his chest, and had his arms wrapped around his legs. Touka cautiously crawled onto the bed with him; it was a real possibility that he might attack. Touka slowly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.

"It's my fault," he mumbled.

Touka internally sighed. So he was going through the faze where he blamed himself. "Don't be an idiot. There was no way you could've-"

"I told the Doves where Mr. Fueguchi was."

"…what…?"

"Jason, the S-rated Ghoul, threatened Mr. Fueguchi, so Hinami and Ryouko came here. After Yoriko gave you that food, and Mom coughed really bad, and I left, I thought I came up with a plan. I told Mr. Fueguchi to finish what he was working on for Jason, then leave. Jason and the Doves were supposed to meet at the same time, and kill each other. Mr. Fueguchi was supposed to be gone, and-and M-Mom wasn't supposed…wasn't supposed to-"

Percy broke down, burying his head in Touka's chest…but he found no comfort. The elder Ghoul slid off of the bed, causing Percy to fall on his side. Touka began to walk away, as if in a daze. "Touka?" Percy asked, frightened by his sister's behavior.

She turned her head, and the demigod whimpered at the raw _hatred_ in her kakugan.

"You're right. It _is_ your fault that Sally is dead. You betrayed Mr. Fueguchi, Ryouko, and Hinami. _You're_ the reason Hinami's dad is dead; _you're_ the reason Ryouko's husband is dead."

Percy sobbed. Why was she telling him this? Why was she being so mean? Touka, please stop…

"You're not my brother." Percy whimpered. "You're no family of mine." Percy choked. "You are a monster." Percy was hyperventilating. "You don't belong here; you belong with the other monsters out there." Percy was trying to crawl away, only to hit his backboard.

Touka advanced on him, red eyes glowing in the dark. "Run, _murderer_ , run and never come _back_."

Percy's lip trembled, before he shot out of the window and disappeared.

Touka was silent, her pupil glowing a sickly golden color. Then she began to laugh, a horrible, scratching sound, like knives scraping across a chalkboard. She regained control over herself, and said in an ancient, hollow, _timeless_ voice:

" _Revenge is mine."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	12. Eto

_Eto_

 _ **Welcome back to Green-Eyed Ghoul!**_

 _ **There's apparently some confusion last chapter over why Sally didn't beat it the hell out of there, and why Touka all of a suddenly became the prime candidate for Dick of the Year. Some people told me that they felt it was 'forced.'**_

 _ **Excellent observation skills. Indeed, the actions of Sally and Touka were forced, by a certain Titan of Time by the name of Kronos.**_

 _ **Kronos used the power he had to make Sally sick, and influence her to stay and fight rather than run away. He also used his power to temporarily possess Touka, so he could shatter Percy's spirit with the one closest to him. He did all of this in order to get back at Percy for killing Luke, which derailed most of the Titan's plans.**_

 _ **Now that we have that out of the way, who's ready for Eto to swoop in and become the influence that will shape our broken hero into something a lot more uncaring for others?**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The buildings were shaking, the earth was quaking, and his gut was aching, but he didn't pay any head to these things.

Percy ran. He ran fast, he ran through panicked crowds, he ran across traffic, he ran away. Away from Anteiku. Away from Kaneki. Away from Nishio. Away from Aunt – away from Irimi. Away from Koma. Away from Yomo. Away from Yoshimura.

Away from Touka.

Especially away from Touka.

Why did she say those things? Why did she become so mean? It wasn't his fault! It was a great plan! Mr. Fueguchi finishes the job, leaves, tell the Investigators, so when they get there, they and Jason fight to the death, and Percy would go to the fight scene, pick up a scent, and track down the survivors and end them! It wasn't his fault! So why did Touka say those things!? Why, why, why, why, why, whywhywhywhywhywhyWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY-!?

A giant, meaty hand shot out, wrapped around Percy's neck and hurled him across the alley into a trashcan with enough force to send both things flying even further. Percy just laid there, stuck in an emotional daze, his mind far from rational thought.

"Well, well, boys. Look at what we have here. A dumb kid who thinks he can just run into our territory without consequence."

"Hey, Boss. Get a load of that getup this brat's wearing. I've seen that uniform before. This kid works at that posh coffee shop, Anteiku."

"Anteiku?" the Boss gasped in surprise, before he began laughing.

Percy didn't hear any of the rest of the conversation, his mind stuck on Anteiku…Anteiku…Anteiku…family…family…Mom…dead… _dead!_...Asaki…Asaki…dead…Fueguchi…Hinami…Hinami…Hinami…Touka…Touka… _Toaka_.

Rage.

Percy's kakugan burned to life, his gut unclenching, causing the world to shop shaking, and he shot up and forward like a bullet, ripping off the one called Boss's head off. The other Ghouls, four men, balked in surprise. Percy whipped around to face them, crushing the cranium in his hands like a grape. _"Don't say that name…!"_ he hissed.

It was all Anteiku's fault! Ryouko's fault! Hinami's fault! _Touka's_ fault! They should've done more for Mom! Should've not let her leave! They should've been stronger, and stood up against Jason and not run away like cowards! And Touka should've helped-she should've been there-she-she-she should _just. Die!_

Percy screamed, his extreme emotional turmoil overcoming any sense of logic he might've once had. His kagune ripped out, obliterating the back of his uniform. The other Ghouls made to flee, but they were butchered like cattle. Their scent wafted up into Percy's nose - _so good! -_ and he promptly dug into their collective corpses.

Blood was spattered all over his fancy uniform, so Percy ripped it off. His vest, his shirt, his apron, his pants, he even tore off his shoes and boxers, before digging back in. It was late afternoon, but Percy wasn't worried about anyone. Let them come! Let them die!

Above the ravenous Percy, standing on top of the building, were three of the most powerful Ghouls alive. The one standing further back, impressively tall, with a high ponytail, long, maroon cloak, and a mask that was blank aside from the giant lips and teeth, was Noro. Just a bit in front of him was another outstandingly tall Ghoul, dressed in a white coat, with white hair, and a red mask that covered his lower face. This one's name was Tatara. Squatting on the ledge, looking down, was the only female of the group. She was far shorter than her companions, her body covered entirely in bandages—even her face, with a sleeveless, tattered, maroon cloak that had a hood adorned with a floppy pair of ears. Around her neck was a pink cloth adorned with flower designs. This one was Eto.

" _Are you sure about this one, Eto?"_ Tatara asked, his voice distorted by his mask.

" _Uh-huh. He's so cute, and has so much potential,"_ Eto giggled, her voice also distorted by the bandages around her face. Noro said nothing. He didn't talk much.

" _That's what you said about the last one. You ended up accidentally snapping her neck. Then you ate her."_

" _Yeah, but he's different. I can smell it, and he smells so good too."_

Tatara closed his eyes. _"We are not recruiting him if all you plan do to is eat him."_

Eto giggled. _"My dad would get so mad if I ate him. Besides, I want this one."_

Tatara sighed, _"Fine then. We'll approach him later tonight. It's still day, and he's not exactly in the right state of mind right now. Eto?"_ The damn girl was gone. Noro patted his companion on the shoulder, and pointed down. Following the silent Ghoul's finger, Tatara's eye twitched when he saw Eto about to mess with the Kraken.

Percy ripped out the kakuhou of a fourth Ghoul, and swallowed it whole. It tasted horrible, but the taste didn't matter, he just wanted _more_. His own kakuhou burned in an uncomfortable fashion, but that didn't matter. He just wanted _more_.

A new scent, one that was somewhat familiar, suddenly entered his nose, and Percy looked up with a bloodstained face at the girl that had just appeared in front of him. "Who," he sucked in air, "the hell," more air, "are _you_?"

" _Oh, me?"_ Eto pointed to herself. _"I'm just a simple little girl who happened to be passing by when I heard the sounds of another Ghoul eating."_

"Would you mind leaving, then?" Percy growled. "I'm busy."

" _Are you hungry because you're sad?"_

"Huh?"

" _Do you miss your mommy?"_ Eto teased, dangerously.

Percy's face contorted into rage as tears built at his black eyes. "Shut up!" His kagune whipped out and surged forward, but it felt slow, sluggish, and it burned like an overused muscle. The girl disappeared before the tentacles were just a few inches away.

" _It's okay to be sad. Everyone feels sad when their loved ones are ripped away from them."_

"S-Shut up! You don't know anything!" Percy whipped around, tentacles splayed out, but they were trembling, and felt heavy. It was struggle to keep them up.

" _Poor baby,"_ Eto crooned. She spread her arms out, as if for a hug. Percy froze. _"Come here, and I'll make everything better."_

To Percy, the image of the girl was suddenly replaced with that of his mother, and he slowly stumbled forward, uncomprehending of what he was seeing. His kagune faded form existence, his kakuhou burning dully. He entered the embrace of the girl, and she wrapped her arms tightly around him. Percy felt safe.

" _Good boy. Now, let it allllll out,"_ she whispered in his ear. She began to stroke his hair, while rubbing small circles across his back. Percy didn't know why, but he felt comfortable in this girl's arms, he felt warm. He felt like he could trust her, so he did what she told him, and let his emotions rage.

His gut clenched as he let out his anger at himself, at Touka, at the CCG, at Jason, and his sadness for the loss of his mom. Overhead, the cloudy skies became even more so, light grey turning to black. The clouds began to role in, bringing with them the sounds of thunder, and lowly whistling wind.

Tatara and Noro, while surprised, remained where they were on the roof several stories above. Eto continued to hold the boy close, already making plans on how to handle the young Kraken, and what to do with him. In his emotionally fragile state, he would be easy to convince to do whatever, as long as he got love and affection.

Manipulating those who blamed themselves for another's demise were always the easiest.

Rain began to fall, washing away the blood that covered Percy. Eto continued to hold him, as his sobs became whimpers, and his whimpers became hiccups, and his hiccups eventually became calm breathing.

" _Better now?"_ Eto asked, water softly dropping around them.

"Y-yeah. What…what's your name?" Percy asked nervously.

" _I'm Eto. What's your name?"_ She already knew that, but it was all part of the conversation.

"It's Percy."

" _Nice to meet you, Percy. Can you tell me why you're so sad?"_

If the demigod wasn't so broken right now, he would've remembered Eto's earlier comment about missing his mommy, but right now, he was just unbelievably happy to have someone to talk to about his problems, even it was a complete stranger. There was just something about her that Percy felt connected to.

Percy spilled his heart, telling Eto everything from how his mom got sick, up to what Touka had said to him.

" _What are you going to do now?"_ Eto asked curiously.

Percy didn't have an answer. He wasn't going back to Anteiku. He had destroyed his clothes. And the Doves would be out for him now. "I don't…I don't know…" he said sadly.

Eto grinned beneath her bandages. _"How about you come with me? I work for a powerful organization that would love to have you with us."_

Percy faltered in Eto's arms. He didn't like the sound of working for someone, but what else was he going to do with his life from here? He wasn't going to go back to Anteiku, that was for damn sure. He couldn't ever look at Touka the same again. He could always go back to Camp Half-Blood…yeah, and Zeus was going to descend from Olympus to ask Percy to bear his children.

But Eto was nice. She was kind. She smelled familiar. She had been there for him when no one else was.

Percy gripped the girl a bit tighter. "I want to go with you."

Eto squeezed him. _"Then let's go."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _If you want to be a part of Aogiri Tree, you'll have to sever all ties with your past. That means forgetting about everyone in Anteiku."_

" _They're already forgotten."_

" _We'll see. But for now, part of severing your past is to gain closure. Track down and kill the Investigators that killed your mother. And then report back to me."_

Percy recalled his conversation with Eto vividly. He went to the Fueguchi's home, picked up the scents of Mado, and the new guy that was with him, and tracked them all the way to the CCG's 20th ward branch office. He contemplated storming the place, but he wasn't in the mood for a confrontation that big.

So he waited outside the office, across the street. He was dressed in casual wear, with dark blue shorts, white shoes, and a navy hoodie. The hood was up, and earphone cords dropped down to his hoodie pocket. To passersby, he was just some kid listening to some music.

The sun was beginning to set, so the Investigators should be getting ready to switch from the day shift to the night shift. Percy eyed the building, and then lo and behold.

The guy that was with Mado came out, flanked by a couple of others. Inexperienced and weak, by the look of them. Such a shame that they had to be with the Beta Target. Percy followed from a distance, blending with the crowd. It was easy to fool them every time they glanced back by standing next to a woman or a man. It gave the illusion that he was their child.

What luck Percy had, in that all three Investigators went into the same little eatery. The Kraken went in after them. It was a small place, with a bar, only four chairs, and the kitchen on the other side of the wall. The conversation stopped when Percy entered, and three heads turned to look at him.

The chef was busy making everyone's order.

"Uh, can we help you, kid?" the one with the glasses asked.

" _You_ can't," Percy said quietly. He raised his head, letting his kakugan become visible. "But _he_ can." The Investigators didn't have time to react as the Ghoul swiftly moved.

Glasses died when a strike to the back of his neck had enough blunt force to crush his brainstem. Percy slid past the middle, and spun around to face him. He threw his elbow back, crushing the third man's sternum and sending him cracking into the wooden wall. Percy thrust his arm out, and one of his tentacles shot forward, spearing through the chef's brain.

"What's your name?" Percy asked the last man standing.

The Investigator growled. "Amon. Koutarou Amon. What's yours, monster."

Percy flinched slightly at being called 'monster.' Memories of Touka began to resurface, but the Kraken forced them down. "That's not important. There's something I want to ask you though, before I kill you." Amon snarled in response, masking his fear with anger.

"What did it feel like to fight the Death Angel?"

Amon blinked. "What?"

Percy narrowed his eyes. "What was going through your head when you killed my _mother!?_ " he threw his hood off, causing Amon to gasp in surprise at seeing the resemblance between this boy, and the woman he just helped kill. The eye structure and the nose were the same.

Amon grimaced slightly. "In the heat of battle, I was only thinking about getting out alive, and following orders. She was a Ghoul, plain and simple. After Jason delivered the final blow, and the life began to leave her eyes, I wondered if she had any family."

"And how does that make you feel, now that you know you just robbed a son of his mom?" Percy snarled. A tad hypocritical, maybe, considering the people he had killed, but he wasn't going for logic. He was going for emotion.

Amon stood up straight, glaring at the Ghoul. "I'm sorry for taking your mother away, but I will not apologize for killing her. She was a Ghoul, and I'm a CCG First Class Investigator. I will not apologize for doing my job."

"I'm glad you feel that way, because now I'll feel less guilty about doing _this!"_

Something crashed through the door, wrapping around Amon's waist, and pulling him away just before Percy's kagune could turn him into Investigator Shish kebab.

The Ghoul growled, recognizing Mado's scent, along with the remnants of Mr. Fueguchi's. The thing that just pulled Amon to safety was most like the Quinque made from Asaki's Rinkaku. There was another scent, like Sally's but distorted like Asaki's, and it made Percy's blood boil. It was bad enough that these fuckers killed her, but to defile her body like that was unforgiveable.

Percy exited the food stand, two tentacles locked behind him. The street was empty, aside from the panting Amon, and the madly grinning Mado, holding a large, segmented Quinque that had spikes on the sides of each segment, forming a kind of bladed whip, that ended with a curved, serrated chunk of sharp object. In Mado's other hand was a pure-white attaché case that had intricate red markings all over it.

The Investigator cackled. "Out for vengeance, are we, Kraken? My, it astounds me that an animal such as yourself can even comprehend what revenge is, but enough of this chit-chat. Allow me to reunite you with your sow of a mother!"

Mado swiped his arm, sending his Quinque flying at the stationary Ghoul. Percy let it get within two inches of him before he swiped his arm up, derailing the weapon's path. A flick of his tentacle across the stretchy part severed the bastardized weapon easily. Mado blinked at how easy his new Quinque was broken, but no matter.

He still had one more to break in.

Mado whipped his broken Quinque back in, and clicked his other case. Despite knowing what was in it, Percy's eyes still widened in horror at seeing what had become of his mother. The weapon Mado pulled out looked like a grenade launcher, with the handle being inside where the grenades were supposed to go, and the stock running underneath the wrist and coming up fit comfortably around the forearm. The barrel stuck out from the top of the weapon, pointing forward, jutting out about six inches, and, shooting out from where the 'cartridge' was, underneath the barrel, was a single-edged blade about three feet long and eight inches along the flat. The entire Quinque was white with red veins everywhere.

"We call this one Morspiumtes." Mado grinned. "Say hello to Mommy."

Percy's response was to let all twelve of his tentacles loose. Amon paled, his knees trembling, and even Mado pause at seeing the swarm of RC cells, but the deranged man's hesitation was replaced with perverse glee. "HAHAHA! Excellent! Another powerful Quinque for the collection!"

He leveled Morspiumtes at the Kraken, and the barrel emitted a hateful red light. Percy disappeared just as the shot was a fired, a ball of red light that tore a five-meter-wide crater that was three feet deep into the street. Mado's mix-matched eyes darted around, before he swung the Quinque up, firing another round at the descending Ghoul, only for him to twist at the last second, and let the blast detonate harmlessly above.

Mado swung his other Quinque up, but Percy batted it aside, with a tentacle. The Investigator leapt back to avoid the impact of the Ghoul, and began using Morspiumtes to slice apart incoming tentacles. Percy remained unfazed, calmly stalking forward, easily regenerating his kagune.

The Kraken tensed suddenly, then he leapt forward, screaming, his tentacles all splayed out. Mado grinned at the wide-open, point-blank shot he was just given. He pulled the trigger, but the damn thing became jammed! Kureo gasped, and tentacles began to enter his body, piercing all vital organs.

Lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, stomach, pancreas, spleen, larynx, intestines, and brain.

Everything from Mado's waist up, became an unrecognizable, bloody, gory, mess. This man did not die, peacefully, cleanly, or ceremoniously. He was butchered, just like he had butchered many a Ghoul. He died as he lived. Violently.

Amon just sat there on the sidewalk, gaping. It couldn't be…Mr. Mado? Dead? It…it just wasn't possible. They very thought of _him_ being killed by a Ghoul was…was…SQUELCH.

Koutarou Amon coughed up a pint of blood as his torso was turned to mush. He looked up, coming face to face with a blade, and further beyond that was a barrel, and further beyond even that, was a pair of dead eyes suspended in twin voids.

The barrel glowed red, and the Investigator knew no more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Anteiku_

"Hey, Touka? Where's Percy?" Kaneki asked.

The bluenette blinked. "He's still in his room, so don't even think about bothering him, or I'll kill you."

"O-O-kay, but, don't you think it's strange that he hasn't been down in days? Even Hinami has come out."

Touka grew frustrated, and threw her cleaning towel on the table. "Kaneki, he just lost his _mother_. Hinami lost her dad, yeah, but at least she has her mom there to hold her."

"Oh…but shouldn't you be up there, then?"

Touka's face became pained, "I tried, but…don't worry about it. Percy can sort this out on his own." Truth was: she did try. She remembered it vividly. She had entered Percy's room, tried to hug him, but he used his kagune and forced her out. Touka had decided to give him his space, but she worried about him too.

Then the earthquake and the storm hit. Luckily nothing was broken other than a few glasses, and no one was killed, and there wasn't a report of a monster tsunami heading in, so Percy must've gotten past something, but he was still holed up in there.

It was late evening, and Anteiku was closed, most everyone had gone home, but the TV was still on, playing the news, so Kaneki and Touka were privy to the most heart stopping event in their 18 years of life.

" _Tonight, we talk about a Ghoul attack in the 20_ _th_ _ward that left four Investigators dead. At around 5:34 P.M. today, Investigators Yasutomo Nakajima, Ippei Kusaba, Koutarou Amon, and Kureo Mado were engaged by, and killed by, the 20_ _th_ _ward's Kraken, who has now been given a SS-rating. What authorities on the matter find most concerning, and highly unusual, is that three of the Investigators were found to be uneaten, the fourth one being found in a blast crater, and that the Quinques Fueguchi One and Morspiumtes, made from the Ghouls Asaki Fueguchi and the Death Angel, are currently missing. Could this mean that a new wave of Ghoul attacks focusing on gathering the weapons that can kill them is coming? Or has the Kraken acquired a new interest in Quinques? Tune after these messages to hear what the experts have to say."_

Kaneki and Touka shared a look, before she made a mad dash through the door, up the stairs, down the hall, up more stairs, down the hall, through Percy's door, flicking on the light—he wasn't there.

The teenager just stood there for a moment, her mind trying comprehend howPercy had left without her knowing, and had gone such a bloody path. Oh, hell. Where was he now!?

Kaneki came up behind her, panting. "What? What is it?"

Touka rounded on him, eyes wide with worry. "Percy _is_ the Kraken. And he's not in here!"

Kaneki's eye widened, at both revelations. Percy was the Kraken!? The S-rated Ghoul of the 20th ward!? And he wasn't here!?

"We need to find him!"

"No shit!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Eto's house_

Despite this place being located at the bottom of stairs in what most would consider a dangerous and dirty place, Eto's home was seriously expensive looking.

"What are you going to do with that?"Eto asked curiously. "Are you going to eat it like you did the other Quinque?"

Percy looked at the weapon resting on the table. Morspiumtes. It was a SS-rated Quinque, made from his mother's kakuhou and Quinque steel. Other than fleeting memories, this was the last thing Percy had of his mom. "No. I'm going to keep it, and use it to destroy the CCG."

Eto stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pressing her chest against his back. The bandages around her mouth had come loose. She leaned down, considering she was ten years older and a head-and-a-half taller, and nibbled on Percy's ear, causing him to shiver.

"There's one more thing you have to do, before you can be a part of Aogiri Tree."

"W-what?" Percy stuttered, nervous at what she wanted, and eager to please her. She was nice, she had helped him, she had been there for him, she had helped him get revenge, was still helping him get revenge. Whatever it took for Percy to repay her, he would do it.

Eto's hands began to roam across his chest, continuously going lower.

" _Become mine."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **And Eto has now cemented herself as the driving force behind Percy's growing dark side, and has begun the strange and kinky role as Percy's girlfriend(?). Still not entirely sure if this going to be more romance oriented, or animalistic domination/possession. Or if Eto should pack something extra downstairs.**_

 _ **I hope you like what Sally's Quinque was. I know it was probably difficult to picture, but think of it as a smaller War Machine from Bo3, but with the barrel on/over the top, and a super-sized bayonet right underneath, with the white color and red veins.**_

 _ **Morspiumtes is a play on the Latin mors Principium Est, which is angel of death in Latin…according to Google Translate. If you don't know how I did it, I took 'mors,' put the 'prium' in Principium right after it, and reversed Est for the ending. It's pronounced (more-spee-uhm-tez).**_

 _ **Oh, and Amon is dead, as in permanently deceased, forever, not coming back in some grand show of wizardry, magic, Deus Ex Machina, or anything. And Percy ate Fueguchi One.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review please!**_


	13. Kraken vs Jason

_Kraken vs. Jason_

 _ **Green-Eyed Ghoul is back online!**_

 _ **Sorry about not posting anything yesterday. I was gone most of the day, visiting my step-grandfather. Poor bastard has a glass eye, almost blind in the other, senile, has Alzheimer's, can't comprehend what's wrong with dumpster-diving for random things (he found a worn out pair of shoes that he deemed 'brand new'), completely ruined his bathroom, needs someone to come down every weekend to make sure he's still alive and hasn't lived on beer, but by God he is one happy old man.**_

 _ **It's been a running joke for the past five years now that he's too happy to die.**_

 _ **After getting home at 7:30 at night, in the middle of the rain, motivation for writing was zero, and I just finished my evening by mix-and-matching Gear on AC Unity. Another reason for the Delay was that I didn't know where to go with this chapter. Originally, it's supposed to follow episodes 9 and 10, but episode 9 revolves entirely around dead characters, and Anteiku, which Percy is no longer a part of, and episode 10 is where things start getting serious.**_

 _ **But Anywho, let's see what I came up with!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own TG or PJO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy was lying in bed with Eto, the older Ghoul holding him close from behind. It was sometime late in the morning, but the Kraken was awake. He didn't want to move for a simple reason: he didn't want to. He was comfortable right here, held in the embrace of his…girlfriend? Lover? Consort? Mate? Significant other? Friend with benefits? What exactly did you call the relationship between two Ghouls with a ten-year age gap?

Pedophilia was at the top of the list, but Percy was the result of the union between a three-thousand-year-old god, and a twenty-something-year-old woman. And he didn't exactly hold the same values as human beings, because he was an unprecedented species of hybrid between god and Ghoul. So whatever this relationship was called, Percy really didn't care.

He was happy.

Last night had been wild, to say the least. Eto had done most of the work, and one could see very faint scars that covered Percy, scars that looked eerily like bite marks. Ghouls didn't really do hickeys, and regeneration kept the issue of blood loss almost nonexistent. Percy honestly didn't know how to feel about last night, other than it was awesome, and he wanted to do it again.

Eto stirred, yawning, her green tresses splayed out around her. Discovering that Eto was actually Sen Takatsuki was an experience that was lost on Percy, because he didn't read her books. Kaneki and Hinami probably would've freaked out, but what they thought was meaningless. The real shock was that Eto only had one kakugan, in her right eye.

In the heat of the moment, Percy didn't ask.

"Good morning," Eto chirped. Percy responded by pressing himself against her, before relaxing again. "So how does it feel to be a man now?"

The demigod shrugged, an interesting movement while lying down on his side. "It feels good, I guess."

Eto grinned mischievously, before reaching around and…Percy leapt into the air on reflex, throwing off the blanket, revealing that the only clothing either Ghoul was wearing was dry sweat. Despite the events of just a few hours ago, the demigod was still not entirely used to being touched.

Eto giggled at the reaction of her…boyfriend? Toy? Plaything? Pet? Puppy? Devoted follower? Perhaps those other four words were a bit strong. The One-Eyed Owl didn't truly think of Percy as something to satisfy her libido, but it was strange, even for her, to think of the thirteen-year-old as a sexual partner. Oh well, in the end this kid was going to rip Arima's head off and lead the Ghouls into a new era of supremacy…hopefully.

Eto got out of the bed, and sauntered over to the blushing Percy, swaying her hips and flaunting her assets. The hormonally-driven boy was not discreet at all in his looking, and his body reacted appropriately. Eto had seen bigger, but Percy was hardly done growing yet.

"Get dressed," she purred, leaning down to the boy's face, "we need to get you an Aogiri-appropriate outfit before we attack the 11th ward."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A few hours later_

In a dark room lit only by an overhead lamp, Eto, Noro, Tatara and Kraken 2.0 stood around a table with a map of the 11th ward on it.

Percy's new outfit consisted of black, calf-high combat boots, with black pants tucked into them. Specialized knee-pads covered his knees. Covering his torso was a maroon, tattered cloak, much like Eto's, except his had sleeves that covered his hands, and the bottom only came to just below his crotch. On the back of his cloak was the symbol of Aogiri Tree. He also had a hood with floppy ears; Eto said it made him look cute. He wasn't wearing a mask, because his old one was at Anteiku, and he wasn't going to wear one of those 'ridiculous' skull masks.

All kakugan were active, Percy's eyes glowing green, Eto's right eyehole glowing red, Tatara's beady eyes shining, and Noro's mask covered his eyes. How did that guy even see? Two-way mirror, maybe? Anyway…

" _This is the 11_ _th_ _ward. Currently, we've been coordinating hit-and-run attacks against Investigators and other Ghouls alike for days now. In 20 hours, we plan on launching a full-scale assault against the CCG branch located here, and claiming this ward as our own_ ," Tatara informed the Kraken. " _What we want_ you _to do in the meantime, is to assist Ayato Kirishima in the hunt for Rize Kamishiro_."

Kraken cocked a brow. "Rize's been dead for several months now. After that accident, her kakuhou was taken out of her and transplanted into Kaneki Ken, making him a One-Eyed Ghoul with Rize's kagune, by Akihiro Kanou."

The leading members of Aogiri shared a look, clearly not informed about this development.

" _Then track Ayato down, and tell him to return with his subordinates for further orders."_

Percy looked at Eto for direction, something that made Tatara's brow twitch. The One-Eyed Owl nodded her head, pecking the boy's lips. Then the Kraken exited the room, intent on _Eto's_ instructions. This guy with all the bleach could go talk to a wall and host a better conversation with it, than with Percy.

" _Are you sure it's a good idea to send the boy after Ayato? After all, Jason will not be far behind the Black Rabbit, and when the Kraken finds him…_ " Tatara trailed off.

" _Then that psychopathic oaf with the torture fetish will finally be dead, and Percy will take his place,_ " Eto answered.

Tatara was silent for a moment, before he said, " _You're trying to get Percy to become a kakuja by practically feeding Jason to him. You really think that boy has what it takes to evolve?"_

" _Of course I do,"_ Eto said matter-of-factly. _"After all, Percy is a_ _special_ _boy."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was surprising that Ayato was a part of Aogiri Tree, but it did explain what Touka's brother had been doing for the past three years. Percy was curious as to how their meeting would go, considering that the two boys now had something in common: hatred for Touka.

The problem wasn't tracking down the slightly younger Kirishima twin, it was the place in which they were going to meet. If Ayato was hunting Rize, then his search would eventually lead him to the 20th ward, and, subsequently, to Anteiku.

Percy would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous about his return to his former home. Not because he was afraid of what they would think of him, oh no. He didn't give two cents about those weaklings' thoughts of him; no, he was worried about the conflict of interest. He wanted no more part of Anteiku, but everyone at the coffee shop was likely to disagree.

The Kraken was strong, but even he couldn't handle _that_ many powerful Ghouls on his own. He could barely fight Yoshimura to a stand-still, and this time the old Ghoul would have backup in the form of multiple SS-rated Ghouls, along with Kaneki and Touka.

Still, Morspiumtes was a really powerful Quinque with explosive capabilities and a blade sharp enough to slice through his own tentacles, so things shouldn't go too terribly bad.

Steeling himself, Percy began to sprint across buildings and rooftops making a beeline for Anteiku, the eventual meeting place of him an Ayato. Why bother scouring the entire ward when you knew when your target was going to go to Point A sometime in the future?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy was in luck, because Ayato was standing on Anteiku's roof when he arrived. The bluenette turned his head around when he picked up the demigod's scent, and his eyebrow raised. "Since when were _you_ a member of Aogiri?"

And why was Eto's scent all over him?

"Since last night."

Wait. Those didn't do _that_ did they? Surely not, considering the age difference.

"What? Got tired of Touka putting you in dresses and calling you Persia?"

"Something like that," Percy said lowly. "But let's just say that if your sister and I meet on the battlefield, I'll kill her."

Ayato's eyes widened at the hostility, and he turned around fully to face the younger Ghoul. "Why are you here, Percy? And what did my sister do?"

"I'm here because Tatara wants you and you're subordinates back for the raid on the 11 ward. As for Touka, she let Mom die, and blamed her weakness on me."

"I…see." Ayato paused. "I heard about what happened to Sally…I'm sorry. She was," Ayato paused again, "she was a good person."

"Yeah…she was," Percy said sadly. Ayato felt a small twinge of guilt right then. "She wanted to bring you back to Anteiku, you know," Percy continued, before his mood suddenly did a one-eighty. "But that's all in the past. I'm going to grab my mask real fast, and then we can head back to base."

Percy walked forward, stepping on the ledge, when Ayato spoke, "You do know that it was Jason that killed your mom, right?"

"Yeah…where are you going with this?"

"You do that Jason…is a part of Aogiri then, right?"

No, Percy _did not_ know that. That information definitely changes things. He was going to have a conversation with Eto about the policy on inter-organizational fights to the death. However, that was a matter for later. Now was the time to get his mask and hopefully a full-scale battle. Well, he could only smell Kaneki, Touka, and a few other Ghouls that were probably Ayato's, so nothing too threatening.

Percy hopped down, grabbed the balcony ledge that was appropriate for his room, and hauled himself up. He picked up the spare key that was hidden under the mat, opened his window, quietly snuck, keeping his hearing and smelling on high alert so that he wasn't surprised with anything.

He stalked across his room to his dresser, opened the bottom drawer, threw out the folded up blankets, revealing his mask, a sword, a pen, and one of Touka's thongs. He was going to prank Kaneki with that, but now it was mute.

Percy reached down, and donned his mask, keeping his hood still up. He did admit, the floppy ears did create a cute appearance, but would you still be cracking up when you had tentacles turning you into a shish kebab?

Percy eyed the swords. He hadn't touched those since Camp Half-Blood, almost eight months ago. He hadn't ever needed them; the people he fought had skin too dense to be cut by either blade, regardless of whether or not they were mortal, and an Investigator's Quinque would probably break Backbiter, and there was also what Eto had said: Sever all ties to your past.

There was no way Eto knew about Camp Half-Blood, but that was still a sound piece of advice. The sooner he completely forgot about the demigods, the better. He was a Ghoul, and the only connection he had to that world was a father that he never knew, or wanted. Artemis…Artemis had warned him that his life was going to be filled with hardships, pain, and misery, and he had gotten exactly that.

But like he said then, he wasn't going to run away. He wasn't running away; he was following in the footsteps of Luke, and following his own path, that path being Aogiri Tree destroying the CCG.

Percy left the swords in his drawer, shut it, made sure that there was no-one coming up the steps, and made sure that everyone was still downstairs and not waiting on the balcony or was standing in the middle of the street, waiting for him to jump out, crept over to the window, slid out, shut it, locked it with the key, took a quick glance down the street, looked up, and then whipped his head back down so fast his neck popped.

It was too easy. It was too goddamn easy; walking up the street to Anteiku was none other than Jason himself…and some gay-looking person with a butt chin, but he wasn't important.

Percy blinked a few times, making sure he wasn't hallucinating. He wasn't. So he did something that was almost comical: he reached up under the back of his cloak, and whipped out Morspiumtes, a bead of light running across the top of the blade.

Percy squeezed the trigger, a blast of red light shot forward at 570ft/s. the blast was almost instantly in front of the approaching Ghouls, and the explosion that resulted from impact obscured the effects. Percy wasted no time in scrambling up Anteiku before everyone inside came rushing out.

The Kraken found the rooftop to be void of life, but he had smelled Ayato's scent go off in the direction of the 11th ward some time ago. Looking down, the smoke had cleared enough to reveal a crater as wide as the street, and probably a good four feet deep, ruptured sewage pipes spewing their contents out, making a disgusting puddle. Percy saw a floating arm the size of a small tree, and what was probably once a skinny man.

Jason had managed to dodge, but not without injury.

Those inside Anteiku had come running out, but the scents of the sewage, the dead body, and the scent of Sally would mask Percy from their noses. Of course, the same could be said about Jason, but the demigod didn't need smell to track down the S-rated Ghoul. He could hear the giant panting heavily.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yamori was indeed panting. He barely made it out of there alive, but in his leap away, his left arm had been blown off, and Nico had been reduced to a smear on the pavement. Dammit, it was going to take a lot of eating to regenerate his arm. Where had that shot come from, anyway? It had to be a Dove's Quinque, but sniffing the air revealed nothing Nico's corpse smell, sewage, and a faint scent of someone that should've been dead…

" **Jason…"**

The Ghoul in question's head snapped to the origin of the distorted sound, and someone walked out of the brush, someone wearing a cloak like Eto's, but had on a certain mask, a mask that pissed Jason off. "Kraken…you really think you're strong enough to take me on, even it's for revenge for what I did to your whore of a mother?" Jason cackled, "Do you even _know_ who your father is, runt? Welllll, _do you!?_ "

" **Jason…what's a thousand minus seven?"**

The Ghoul gaped. "W-Wha-? H-How do you-?"

" **The correct answer is: nine hundred and ninety-three."**

"GRAAAGH! I'll kill you, you little bastard!" Jason did something that Percy didn't expect. The hulking man's suit shredded, exposing his ungodly physique. And then his kagune mutated. It spread, covering his back, sliding into his eyes, and into his mouth. It covered Jason's entire right arm—his only arm—but it spread down past the stump of his left, and formed a new, grotesquely muscular arm that only had three, claw-like fingers. The color and thickness changed as well, going from blue/purple/red to a mottled red/black/brown, and it became almost as thick as Jason's entire body. An incomplete kakuja, Percy realized.

Jason growled, before he exploded forward at an impressive speed. The Kraken responded to the charge by raising Morspiumtes. Time froze as Yamori got within three feet of the demigod, his kakuja thrust forward, mere inches away from the Quinque, with the CCG weapon emitting red light from the barrel.

Time slowly began to crawl forward, with the kakuja beginning to touch the RC blast.

And then the most amazing, outrageous, out-of-the-blue, impossible, head-shaking, random, idiotic, stupid, over-the-top thing happened: the impact from the two weapons colliding created a vortex that sucked both combatants into a wormhole into a parallel dimension.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **I would like to thank Bonestar for giving me the Inspiration behind the incoming madness.**

 **Please don't flame for it.**

 **I thought it was epic.**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a calm day at Camp Half-Blood. Day two of the post-Giant War. Gaea was back to sleep, the Giants all in Tartarus, and the monster army destroyed. It was a day of rebuilding. Romans and Greeks alike pitched in to help the others, children of Ares and Mars trading war stories, children of Hermes and Mercury trading stories of their greatest thefts, children of Venus and Aphrodite trading tips on makeup and how to look handsome.

It was a sign of unity never before seen for the mythological world.

Evening came for the camp, the sun beginning its decent, bathing the camp in its golden glow, and the dining pavilion had never been more crowded. Coach Hedge the satyr made rounds, showing off his baby boy, Chuck. Clarisse, the child's godmother, followed closely behind. Chiron stood up, pounding his hoof to silence all.

"Out of every tragedy, comes new strength. Today, we thank the gods for this victory. To the gods!" All joined in on the toast, but the enthusiasm was muted. They were supposed to thank their parents for dead siblings? "And to new friends!" Chiron continued.

"TO NEW FRIENDS!" That was something _everyone_ could get behind. Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Reyna, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Nico, and every other minor/unimportant face in the crowd. After centuries of blood feud, an accumulated death toll of millions, and splitting apart nations, the children of the gods were more than happy to finally put everything aside and call each other friend.

Then came the explosion.

There was about a microsecond of hesitation as everyone had similar thoughts of 'Oh, now what!?,' before something came soaring into the pavilion, knocking down one column and crashing violently into another. Demigods scrambled away from the collapsing marble as it crushed a table.

Whatever crashed into the column fell down to the ground, and there were multiple gasps upon seeing what it was. It was a kid! Probably a girl, considering the thin frame and the floppy-eared hood, but the mask covered the entire face. The presumed girl stood to her feet, popping her neck.

"RAAAAGH!" A bestial roar was heard, and the girl rolled to the side, avoiding the massive thing that crashed down where she once was. It was a man, at least, it looked like a man. Kind of hard to call seven feet of muscle with some fleshy thing covering his back, arms, and head a man.

The girl jumped back, before running up a column as if it wasn't a straight, vertical surface. The man screamed, and obliterated the pillar; the girl leapt to another, then another, and another, with the man destroying each one with single from his right appendage. Demigods scrambled out of the way of the crashing marble.

The girl slipped, and fell probably thirty feet, only for the man to grab her mid-fall.

"GOT YOU!"

He reared back, and then he _launched_ the girl clear across the camp. She skipped across the ground, cratering it multiple times, before smashing into Cabin 1, making it collapse on top of her. Jason Grace's jaw went slack at seeing his local residence get destroyed, but he, like everyone else, was mega-confused, and ultra-worried.

The man was breathing raggedly, his right thing hanging off to his side, and his left thing digging into the ground. Sharing a look, Percy and Reyna cautiously stepped forward. The man whipped around, and gasps rang out at seeing his face, or rather, what could be seen of his face.

" _You_ ," he rasped, pointing at the son of Poseidon, "you smell just like the _runt_."

"Ahhh…who?" was Percy's intelligent reply.

The man grinned viciously, saliva clear in his mouth. People reached for weapons, drawing swords, knives, spears, pilum and someone barred their fork.

"You smell just like that runt, _Percy Jackson_!" The man snarled. He sped forward, faster than even a launching onager. Percy was way too slow to react, and he was lifted into the air by his head by the man's left arm. Reyna, being the closest, drew her dagger and stabbed at the man's exposed ribs. Her blade passed right through him.

 _That_ was enough to make everyone pause.

This guy…was mortal?

Then a blur slammed into the man's side, sending him flying, dropping Percy in the process. It was the 'girl.' Annabeth hazarded a question, "Percy…?"

The 'girl' looked at her, flinching slightly, but other than that, didn't say anything. Instead, 'she' just reached for the mask covering 'her' face, and removed it. Weapons clattered to the ground, eyes almost fell out of their sockets, jaws dropped, there were sharp intakes of breath, and the son of Poseidon looked ready to faint at seeing a _younger_ version of himself.

Off to the side, the man roared again, charging forward with enough speed to instantly appear next to the demigods. His left arm tore a hole straight through the younger Percy's abdomen, making him drop his mask. He raised him into the air, and whipped Percy away, but not before _biting off_ the left arm below the elbow.

The demigods watched horrified as the younger Percy went rolling across the ground, painting the grass red. Someone screamed in anger, picked up a sword, and ran forward, but the man whirled around in an almost impossible motion, and that demigod's entire upper-body was suddenly missing. Off to the side, a bunch of red bits showered the earth.

The man snarled at the demigods, and Frank responded by shifting into an elephant. He trumpeted before running ahead. If the man was surprised at seeing someone turn into an animal he didn't show it; he suddenly blur to the side, reappearing next to Frank, and batted the part-time pachyderm away. Several tons of animal were sent crashing through columns, rolling across the ground, before shifting back into unconscious demigod.

"Frank!" Hazel screamed.

"Haaaaa," the man hissed, "the next one that interferes _dies_ , got it?"

No one moved. Not even Percy or Jason. Whoever or whatever this guy was, he was strong enough to send an elephant flying, and he was somehow mortal, meaning _none_ of their weapons would work on him. There was nothing they could do. Satisfied that the insects were done buzzing around him, the man turned back around to face the younger Percy.

Amazingly, startlingly, and horrifyingly, the boy _stood up_ , gaping, bloody hole in his abdomen, bleeding profusely, and his left harm, from beneath the elbow was missing, the flesh torn and ragged with a steady stream of crimson flowing from it, pooling on the grass.

The man cackled madly. "I can see the family resemblance! That's the exact same way your whore of a mother, Sally, looked, just before I gutted her like a fish. Giant hole, missing arm, and defiant look. You are missing the kakugan though, and the wing."

Older Percy's anger and confusion reached new heights. Anger at what this man had just called his mother, and confusion over just about everything else in that monologue. Then the confusion and shock levels soared when the younger Percy's sclera suddenly turned pitch-black, green veins spreading from the iris to the skin.

Nico suddenly shivered, which drew much attention. "That aura…so cold. I haven't felt a desire to kill as strong as this since I was in Tartarus…"

The man cackled again. "There we go! Now, allow me to reunite you with Mommy!"

He surged forward, and many screamed, but the most horrifying thing happened: twelve tentacles suddenly burst out from underneath the younger Percy's cloak, and slammed against the man's fleshy arms in a shower of sparks. The tentacles won out, and threw the man back several meters.

The man did a handspring, propelling him up through the air. When he landed, his massive weight kicked up a cloud of dust that quickly dispersed. "Ahhh! So this is what the full power of the SS-rated Kraken looks like! Gotta say kid, not half bad, but it won't save you!"

The younger Percy swayed a bit, before he was suddenly in front of the man. His tentacles surged forward, but the man was able to block most of them. Five were able to pierce his skin, but that was it. Percy retreated, and the man screamed again, and the two began a destructive dance across the camp.

Percy used his tentacles to pull himself out of the way, letting the man crash down against the dirt. Craters began to appear all over the grounds, and the shockwaves from the slams sent the demigods tumbling and shaking. Percy jumped away from an attack, landing in front of the ruins of Cabin 1.

He lived up to his apparent moniker, with his tentacles wrapping around debris and hurling it at the man in an almost never-ending barrage of marble. Jason did not know how to feel about watching his cabin get used as projectiles. Credit to the man though, for he shattered every bit thrown at him with ease.

One piece caught the man in the face, and Percy went on the offensive. And boy was it a spectacle. The younger version of the hero of Olympus blitzed forward, slapping the man to the side, before wrapping his tentacles around the man's feet, slinging him up into the sky.

Percy crouched low, and pushed off, his tentacles aiding him by slapping the ground with enough force to shatter it. He blazed through the air, sailing right the man, going even higher. Then he twisted, wrapping himself in his tentacles, before he untwisted, slapping the man straight down. When the behemoth hit the ground, a shallow crater appeared around him, a cloud of dust springing up. Percy spread his tentacles wide, momentarily halting his decent, before he rolled forward in the air, his tentacles slamming down hard upon the man.

The entire camp shook from impact.

When Younger-Percy returned to the earth, everyone noticed that A) his chest was now fine, and B) his arm had grown back. More and more questions filled the heads of everyone present.

A tentacle slid off to the side, and picked up a white object that looked like a grenade launcher equipped with a massive, underbarrel bayonet. The tentacle retracted, and Percy held the object tightly in his left hand. The dust from the crater dispersed, revealing the man. The pulsating flesh that covered him was gone, and his body looked visibly broken.

Despite his injuries, the man was still able to chuckle madly. "Well what do you know? Killed by the bastard son. Come on then, Percy, _finish it._ "

The younger Percy was silent as he stared down at the man, his tentacles splayed out behind him, all pointed down. The demigods watched with baited breath, terrified and intrigued. Just what had happened between these two? What were they? Who were they? How did they just appear? All of these questions and more floated around everyone's heads.

"No…" Percy finally said at last. "Jason…what's a thousand minus seven?"

A tentacle came down, piercing with a loud squelch. The man, apparently named 'Jason,' an unfortunate coincidence, howled.

"What's a thousand minus seven?" Another tentacle, another scream.

"I'm waiting for answer…" SQUELCH!

The demigods could only watch in transfixed horror as this apparent younger version of Percy began to ruthlessly torture this man. None were more shocked than the older Percy. Was this…was this truly him? Could he really torture someone like this? Jason had said that he had killed Sally; if someone killed his mother, would Percy torture that person before killing them? Memories of Akhlys, the goddess of misery and poison, began floating through the demigod's head. It was a distinct possibility that he would.

A fifth tentacle entered Jason, and the man finally answered, tears beginning to stream down his face. "N-nine hundred and ninety-three. Nine hundred and e-eighty s-six. Nine-hundred a-and seventy n-n-nine."

"You killed my mother, and you tried to kill me. So it's only fair that…I kill you first." Younger Percy raised the object in his hand, the barrel glowing a harsh red, then it fired.

BOOM!

Smoke, fire, and blood erupted from where Jason was. Percy grit his teeth, and then he began to unload. Blast after blast after blast rained down upon the ground from fifteen feet away. Tears began to fall from Percy's eyes as he was overcome with emotion. He screamed at the top of his lungs, but the sound was drowned out by the explosions.

CLICK CLICK CL-CL-CLICK

The launcher seemed to have run out of ammo, because it wasn't firing anymore, only making the sound of an empty gun. The red veins on it glowed brightly, and red steam rose from the barrel. Smoke and dust billowed up from the crater, which was no doubt deeper now. All eyes were locked on the younger Percy.

He began to tremble, the weapon in his hand shaking terribly. His knees buckled, and he stabbed the blade into the ground to keep himself upright. His tentacles waved slowly as they retracted into his back. Percy shook quietly as he cried to himself, overcome with emotion as memories of his mother ran through his head in fast-forward, and how she was taken from him by Yamori.

The demigods stood there unsure of what to do. How exactly did you handle a crying kid that just tortured and murdered someone three times his size, survived his arm being torn off, and his stomach being ripped open, and just displayed enough strength to hurl slabs of marble around like baseballs?

Apparently, you don't get the chance to.

As if this night wasn't already strange enough, _another_ boy fazed into existence. This boy was wearing black boots, pants, vest, and long-sleeved muscle shirt. A mask also covered this one's face, with the design being a wide, demented grin running along the bottom, three slants over the right eye, and a crescent with a line through the middle over the left eye. This boy also had messy, raven hair that fell everywhere in thin spikes.

He walked right up behind the crying Percy, and slammed his fist down upon the boy's head, instantly knocking him out. The masked one threw the unconscious one over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, picked up the weapon, and began to randomly stab it into the ground. When he raised it up, the demigods saw it was covered in some kind of meet.

The masked boy looked over at the Heroes of Olympus, and a collective shiver snaked up hundreds of spines. Even Nico and Hazel, children of the Underworld, felt scared. The boy began to walk over, younger Percy and weapon still on his shoulder and in hand. The foreboding feeling steadily increased with each step closer.

The boy stopped in front of Annabeth, and, despite the height difference of more than a few inches, he seemed to tower over her. " _Mask,"_ he barked shortly.

The daughter of Athena blinked, before she looked behind her and saw the coral-like mask resting on the ground. Cautiously, she bent down and picked it up, keeping her eyes locked on the masked boy; he oozed mistrust and danger.

The boy held out the hand corresponding to the shoulder holding the younger Percy, and Annabeth put the mask in the outstretched appendage. The boy gripped it tightly, before spinning on his heel without so much as a thank you. Not even the ADHD of the children of Hermes/Mercury could get them to say 'rude.'

A beam of light shot down from the heavens, and that beam elongated into a massive rectangle. All that could be seen in the wide beam was a never-ending stream of light. The boy entered the beam, disappearing, and there was a massive flash of light, like an exploding star.

When the demigods' eyed cleared back up, they all gazed around at the camp grounds in shock. Where did all of these craters come from?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **I'm glad I did that. I've always wanted to do crossovers with my versions of characters and canon. Yes, I know the sudden shift was shoehorned in, but that was the point. I wanted to make it random.**_

 _ **Percy knows about the 1000 minus 7 thing from a rather terrifying dream he once had, that I will not go into detail about.**_

 _ **I thought long and hard about the ending, and I just couldn't find myself writing about how someone went up and hugged Percy until he stopped crying, so I brought in a certain someone and had him end it in a way perfectly befitting his character.**_

 _ **So, how was the fight with Jason? Did you think the reactions were appropriate? Was the chapter good? I hope it was, because school starts for me tomorrow, and I start Drivers Ed at 6:30 and it ends at 8:30, so my writing time is**_ _ **very**_ _ **limited.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	14. The 11th Ward

_The 11_ _th_ _Ward Pt. 1_

 _ **Well, it's been over a month, and much has happened. School started, I got my learner's permit, and I binged**_ _ **Leviathan**_ _ **and**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, while leaving**_ _ **Xenomorphic**_ _ **with a cliffhanger. I think I'm gonna update the latter two after this, before beginning work on**_ _ **Son of Jashin**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Now, to address the ending of last chapter. If I had to give a ratio of positive to negative reviews regarding the dimension shift, I would say 7:3. Could it have been written better? Most definitely. Could**_ _ **Harry Potter**_ _ **,**_ _ **Twilight**_ _ **,**_ _ **A Song of Ice and Fire**_ _ **, and**_ _ **Star Wars**_ _ **be written better? Most definitely. My point is, every story had its bad chapters, and that was what Kraken vs. Jason was.**_

 _ **A bad chapter. Even I'll admit that.**_

 _ **Still, that doesn't mean I'm going to take it down or rewrite it. It's up, it's posted, and it happened. Let it stand as a reminder that I'm human, and have the ability to make mistakes. Besides, when I first started writing**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, my main idea for that story was a dimension-hopping main character that kicked ass at the expense of major amounts of shock to the canon cast.**_

 _ **Moving on. Whether I'll buckle down and read the online manga or cover Root A is still unknown, but something else has come to my attention. Numerous reviewers have asked/suggested that another demigod (mainly Jason Grace) come to Tokyo and become a Ghoul in the same manner as Kaneki. Input is welcome.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Percy Jackson

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _You're not my brother!"_

" _You're a monster!"_

" _Run, murderer, run and never come back!"_

" _PERCY! WHAT'S A THOUSAND MINUS SEVEN!?"_

The Son of Poseidon trembled as he shakily returned to the world of the living. His head hurt, his body ached, and his kakuhou burned with intense discomfort. Ugh, what had happened?

He was talking with Eto…then he was heading for Anteiku…he met Ayato on the roof…then…his mask…and…then…? And then what? Something shocking, something important, something with a hockey mask Inspired by Jason Voorhees- _JASON!_

The memories came flooding back in like a dam. Jason and the clown approaching, the explosion, Camp Half-Blood, the other demigods, the older version of himself, the battle, and unloading Morspiumtes all over his mother's murderer…then something hit him _really_ hard in the head. That was cause for concern in and of itself, considering not even Yoshimura could knock him out with a single blow to his skull.

Putting that aside for now, Percy looked around at where he was. He was at Eto's place, laying on the couch. But…Eto wasn't here. Her scent was merely lingering, not radiating. So, he had somehow broke into an alternate dimension, killed Jason, got knocked out, and he was now at Eto's place.

Speaking of scents… _GURGLE_

Percy's stomach sang the song of its people, and the Ghoul's nose homed in on the disgusting scent of spoiled meat. Following the trail of vapors, Percy laid his eyes upon Morspiumtes laying on the table. The grenade launcher looked perfectly fine, except that impaled on the blade were numerous bits of meat that smelled disgusting, really.

 _GURGLE_

Percy's hunger took control of his rational thought, and he dove forward. He scooped up the Quinque in one fluid motion, and dug into the disgusting meat with ravenous fervor. In under less than a full 60 seconds, the Kraken had completely devoured whatever it was that was impaled on Morspiumtes. Blood caked his cheeks and lips, and he leaned back against the wall, feeling extremely tired.

There was a bad taste in his mouth, but that paled in comparison to the feeling of every single RC cell in his body spontaneously combusting. Percy's kakuhou constricted and burned, and his kagune violently ripped itself free, each tentacle flailing around like a severed lizard tail, which had the predictable effect of totaling Eto's rather pristine house.

A wave of pain ripped through Percy's body again, and his kakugan flared. His back arched, and his tentacles froze in jagged positions. A terrible cracking filled the air as the tentacles began to wrap around themselves, three to bundle for a total of four bundles. While the tentacles were forming a triple braid, the rest of Percy's body bulged and trembled as his RC cells mutated.

In a manner similar to the birth of a Xenomorph, spikes began to poke through the Kraken's skin. These spikes were thin as those found on a sea urchin, and only half as long; they were colored the exact same as his tentacles: black with spurts of green. All along his arms, chest, back, and legs did these spikes emerge in small showers of blood.

And then the spikes began to spread all over Percy's skin, forming a tight shell.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eto was, in short, worried. Which was strange, considering that she had to be attached to something to be worried about it. It was then, the True One-Eyed Owl realized, that she did in fact _care_ for her Percy. Yes; possessive. _Her_ Percy. No one else's. Hers.

The reason for her concern was that Percy was gone. She had sent him on a retrieval mission to fetch Ayato from the 20th ward, only for an explosion that was felt in the 1st ward to originate from close to Anteiku. That was 15 hours ago, and there was absolutely zero word of either Jason or the Kraken. Investigators from the CCG were all over the place, as well as local law enforcement.

Eto walked down the stairs to the grime covered entrance of her home, before she froze when the familiar scent of her boyfriend-mate, whatever-slammed into her like a freight train. There was something distinctly wrong with his scent, so Eto sped forward and almost busted down her reinforced-steel door. When she saw that state of her house, her jaw unhinged.

The walls were covered in deep gashes, the furniture was destroyed or overturned, the chandelier had been obliterated, the bookshelves had tipped over, the books ripped to shreds, and the floors resembled something that a wood chipper shat out. However, that was not what Eto was worried about.

No, she was staring down at the grotesque, twitching mass of green and black writhing on her floor. Instead of rushing to Percy's side, Eto just watched silently. She knew what was happening to her mate, and there was literally nothing she could do for him besides keep him safe from outside harm. She had undergone this process, her father had undergone this process, Yamori was in the middle of this process, and Percy was about to _complete_ this process.

The Kraken was becoming a kakuja.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The remaining members of Anteiku, that is, Yoshimura, Yomo, Enji, Kaya, Ryouko, Nishiki, Touka, Hinami, and Kaneki, were all gathered in their upstairs meeting room. It was well passed Hinami's bedtime, but this was a conversation than everyone needed to be a part of.

"I agree that we need to find Percy as soon as possible, so that we can get to the bottom of his actions and make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble than he already is," Yoshimura said.

Nishio scoffed silently. "I don't get why you're all worked up over this. These Investigators are the ones that killed his mother. I think he had every right in getting some vengeance. Besides, the kid's as smart as he is strong; he knows how to lay low and let the heat blow off. When everything's cool again, he'll be back here and _then_ we can give him the riot act and ground him till he's dead."

"That may be," Yoshimura said quickly, cutting Touka off before she could start an argument, "but that still doesn't change the fact that we need to locate Percy, and bring him back to Anteiku. If he is out for revenge, we need to remember that he still just a child, and may quite possibly blame Sally's death on all CCG members, and start a conflict that will only result in his death."

Okay, that was something even Nishio could not argue with. Children had weird minds.

"Moving forward, is there any news or explanation as to the two explosions yesterday?" Yoshimura asked.

"They came out of nowhere," Touka said. "We were talking to those runners, and all of a sudden, boom. We all scrambled outside, saw the crater in the road, and had our noses almost gouged out by the smell of sewage and burning flesh. Then not even five minutes later, there was another explosion that knocked us all on our asses and vaporized half the park."

"Speaking of scents," Kaneki said silently. "I don't know if any of you noticed it, but I could've sworn I smelled Sally. It was distorted and faint, but it was still there. Also, I stopped by the place that Percy killed the Doves, and I noticed that same scent. And then there's the blast craters; the one outside and the one by the neighborhood are almost exactly alike."

"What are you getting at, Kaneki?" Yomo asked.

The Eye-Patch took a deep breath, before facing those he would gladly call family. "I think that the thing that created those craters was the Quinque made from Ms. Sally, Morspiumtes, and the one that was using it was Percy."

It was silent for a few moments as the present Ghouls digested this new information.

"How the hell do you figure that?" Nishiki asked.

"Well," Kaneki began, "Percy targeted those Doves specifically, so it stands to reason that they were the ones that," Kaneki hesitated, "uh, took Ms. Sally. Also, on the news, they said that the Quinques Fueguchi 1 and Morspiumtes were missing." Hinami buried her face in her mother's side.

"I know it's morbid, but," Kaneki continued, "Morspiumtes is the Quinque made from Ms. Sally, and Percy probably took it so that the remains of his mother wouldn't be used to kill other Ghouls."

"Okay…" Touka said slowly after a while, "If Morspiumtes is the Quinque made from Sally, and Percy has Morspiumtes, and Morspiumtes is what made those explosions, then that means that Percy was _here_."

Without another word, the Rabbit bolted out of the meeting room, down the hall, up the stairs, down the hall, and threw open the door to Percy's room. Blankets that were usually folded up in his bottom drawer had been thrown about, so Touka blurred to the aforementioned drawer, and almost ripped it out. Backbiter...the pen...one of her thongs (she was _so_ going to kill Percy later) ...where was the Kraken mask?

Touka rifled through the other drawer, throwing clothes all around behind her, desperately searching for her little brother's mask. She couldn't find it; even after turning Percy's room into a clothing store, emptying all of his dresser drawers, she couldn't find the mask.

Percy's mask was his most prized inanimate possession. There was no way he would misplace it, and there was absolutely zero possibility that someone had stolen it, because you would've had to either get past the employee's only door, or break through the window while also masking your scent and the sound generated by your footsteps.

If Percy's mask was gone, and there was no sign of forced entry, that could only mean that Kaneki was right, and her little brother had been here...without saying anything.

Touka's heart constricted tightly as her brain went wild. Percy killing Doves instead of just injuring, disappearing and not coming back, sneaking in just for his mask without any explanation or notification...why did it feel like Percy wasn't just blowing off steam, but that he had run away?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is this how you feel...all the time, Eto?" Percy asked.

The Ghoul in question rubbed the boy's hood-covered head affectionately. "Mm-hm. It feels good, doesn't it? The feeling of power, and the knowledge that you're now a breed above the others."

"Yeah…" Percy trailed off, before his fist snapped out, and blew through a steel beam. His fist tingled mildly. The Ghouls were visiting your generic abandoned warehouse, held up by internal bones of metal and concrete, to test Percy's new powers. There wasn't much left of the place.

Eto, after seeing her Percy obliterate steel with an almost casual punch, beamed, her kakugan glowing in the low light of the warehouse.

Percy yelped when he was suddenly scooped up and held tight to his mate's chest. He instantly calmed down, though. Eto was a touchy-feely-clingy girl, who showed her affection with a hands-on approach. That and she was warm.

"Come on," Eto pecked her mate on the lips, "let's get back to the base. The attack begins soon."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The highest-ups of Aogiri Tree stood on a building adjacent to the CCG's 11 ward branch office. Tatara, Noro, Eto, Kraken, Black Rabbit, and the Bin Brothers were all dressed and ready for combat. It was late at night, dense clouds covering the sky, and it was far too quiet for an evening in Tokyo.

" _You all know the plan,"_ Tatara said from behind his mask, _"Bin Brothers, Black Rabbit, attack from the roof and work your way down. Noro, infiltrate through the garage. Eto, stay out here and pick off any stragglers that manage to escape. I will start my assault from the rear, at the loading bay."_

" **And me?"** Kraken asked.

Tatara looked at the shortest Ghoul present. _"Since you killed Yamori and Nico, you have the job of attacking the front entrance. You've also got ten minutes to fight all by yourself before we begin our jobs, so try not to die."_

Instead of arguing, retorting, or looking to Eto for some kind of affirmation or dispute, the Kraken crouched down low, and leapt off the roof with enough force to crack the concrete. He sailed silently through the air, his cloak rustling around him.

" _Ten minutes?"_ Black Rabbit asked. _"Are you sure there's going to be anything left for us to hunt?"_

Tatara seemed to grin underneath his mask. _"That's the idea."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, on Olympus_

If this story had any sense of logic, it would've sometime either late morning or early afternoon in Manhattan, New York. However, because this story threw logic out the window sometime in the past, it was the same time in the Eastern Hemisphere as it was in the Western Hemisphere.

But it somehow being night on both sides of the earth was irrelevant (perhaps Nyx was feeling moody), because the twelve gods of Olympus were gathering tonight for the simple reason of watching the soap opera that was the Life of Percy Jackson—even Hades was invited, although he looked slightly apprehensive about something.

The gods and goddesses all sat in their respective thrones, Hades in his bone chair, and Hestia happily tending to the central hearth in the form of a young child.

"So what do your think's happened?" Apollo asked Hermes.

"I don't care," the Messenger God said with a dark edge. Hermes hadn't been particularly happy with his younger cousin ever since the little shit had killed his son, Luke. Yes, he might've been a traitor and the Lightning Thief, but were his reasons for betrayal truly unfounded?

Luke deserved many things, but having his soul woven into the crotch of Uncle Hades' underwear was not one of them.

Ares grunted off to the side. "Well if this episode is going to be anything like that last one, with Percy kicking that French fag's ass, I'm going to really enjoy it."

Aphrodite shot her boyfriend a crass look. "Calling someone a fag is not nice. Just because a man likes another man isn't any cause for prejudice."

Ares just snorted, producing a knife the size of a truck, and proceeded to dry-shave his stubble. "Sure it is. Big G gave the humans free will to judge whatever they wanted to, however they wanted to do it, and Lord Chaos gave that same power to us. Therefore, I am allowed to be as mean as I want towards whatever I want. Besides, if America operated like Sparta, we wouldn't have this gay issue."

Aphrodite opened her mouth to retort, but the slamming of the Master Bolt upon the marble quelled all conversation. Lord Zeus stared at the throne-room doors with a flat expression. "Children, if you are done, I do believe we were about to begin Family Movie Night."

"Why does my son have to be our source of entertainment?"

"Because he's the most interesting demigod in the world, and his life brings a smile to my face."

"You just like seeing the Japanese women, dear husband."

"Yes, because I do so enjoy gazing upon the squinty-eyed faces of Asians."

"Racism, Father?"

"Can it, Dionysus, or I'll extend your tenure as Camp Half-Blood's esteemed director."

Before anything else could be said, although if you had acute enough hearing you would've heard Artemis mumble under her breath 'should've turned him into a girl; that would've been more entertaining,' Zeus pointed his bolt forward, and discharged a volt.

The arc of lighting flew forward, before flashing into a large circle that was rimmed with lightning.

Boy, were the gods in for a show tonight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy landed within the perimeter fence with all the sound of a sleeping mouse. On any other night, the office would've been borderline abandoned, with only a skeleton crew present. However, due to all the hit-and-run attacks recently via Aogiri, the office was fully staffed and operational.

It was because of this, that Percy's sudden appearance made one guard panic, and blow his rape whistle, which had the effect of alarms everywhere going off. It was okay though, because that was the plan. Ten minutes before any backup came? Alright then, Tatara; if the man wanted Percy to storm the front, then Percy would storm the front with the most lethal display of Ghoul-on-human combat ever witnessed.

Should he use his kakuja for this? Nah, that would make things too easy.

In addition to the perimeter guards already present, a horde of CCG soldiers, decked out in body armor with a few Quinques in the mass, came rushing out of the office doors. If the Kraken's mental clock was to be trusted, then thirty seconds had passed since he left the roof.

The CCG surrounded the young Ghoul, weapons at the ready. "Surrender peacefully, and you will be treated humanely and respectfully! Resist, and we'll scrape what's left of you off the concrete! You have three seconds to decide!"

The Kraken's response was to let his kagune whip out from underneath his cloak, while also grabbing Morspiumtes. He jumped several meters in the air, and slammed his tentacles into the ground, taking out swaths of humans before they could react.

Even as the commander was trying to issue the order to open fire, Kraken was using his Quinque to blow holes in the concrete, ending the lives of even more Investigators.

He came back down to the ground, and sprinted forward. The black-and-green tentacles were barely comprehensible blurs as they whipped about sporadically, slicing people apart like wet tissue paper, in showers and sprays of blood and internal organs. Anyone directly in front of the Kraken was cut down by the blade of Morspiumtes.

The SS-rated Ghoul sprinted into the office, leaving behind a lake of corpses.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Kraken blazed a bloody trail through the 11th ward's branch office, slaughtering men and women without prejudice or hesitation. Stairwells, halls, cubicles, the armory, elevator shafts, hidden passages, secret routes; nowhere was safe from the Kraken's senses of smell and hearing.

Tatara had given the Ghoul ten minutes before the rest of Aogiri's best came in; the Kraken was stalking down the last man alive at seven minutes and twenty-three seconds.

The panicked CCG operative desperately called the HQ to alert them of what had happened. The line buzzed once before a female voice spoke from the other side, before she was promptly cut off.

" _This is Marude speaking. What the hell is going on down there!?"_

"Mr. Marude-GWAGLIGHUGH!"

" _What the hell? Speak me to me, soldier!"_

The Kraken reached down and picked up the blood-covered cellphone. "Now that he's dead, I've killed them all."

" _What in the-? Who is this, answer me!"_

" **This is the 20th ward's Kraken. Those bastards, Mado and Amon, took my mother away from me, so I'll take every one of you away from your families."**

" _Your mother?"_ The line went dead. _"Hey, I'm talking to you! Answer me, dammit!"_ No response. At the CCG HQ, Marude slammed the phone back down in its holder, his face a clear expression of anger. The rest of personnel inside the telecoms room were staring at him with shocked, fearful, and sad expressions.

"Alright people, back to work!" Marude's forceful tone was enough to re-galvanize everyone into doing their jobs. The middle-aged man walked back to the front panel, sitting down with a sigh. He ran his hands through his hair.

So the Death Angel was the Kraken's mother, and now because she was dead, the kid had basically declared war on the whole of the CCG. Someone patted Marude on the shoulder, and the man sighed again.

"This is a messed up world."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, on Olympus_

Apollo had gone brain dead to such a level that he wasn't even conscious of falling face-first onto the marble. Poseidon's trident clattered to the ground, as well as Zeus' Master Bolt...and Ares' sword, Artemis' bow, Hephaestus' little project, Aphrodite's makeup things, Dionysus' coke can, Hermes' magic cellphone, Demeter's bowl of cereal, Athena's shield and spear, and Hera's nothing...all at the same time. Created quite the orchestra.

Hades was waiting patiently for the impending emotional explosion, and Hestia looked ready to calm down the imminent argument.

It was silent for all of twelve seconds before the Olympians exploded into arguments and protests over what should be done with Percy. Why were they arguing? Some wanted the boy to be killed before he could become a threat, and others obviously didn't want that. After minutes of shouting, Zeus slammed his bolt upon the floor at the same time Hestia allowed the flames to shoot into the ceiling.

Everyone promptly shut up after that.

"First things first," Zeus said. "Perseus said that his mother was taken from him. Hades?"

"Sally Jackson, aka the Death Angel, dead as of May 25, 2006. Cause of death: intense physical trauma and extreme hemorrhaging. Resting place: Non-Applicable. Current status: Quinque/deceased. Section of the Underworld: Elysium."

…

"...what?" Poseidon whispered. He gripped his trident tightly, and all of Olympus began to subtly tremble. "Why am I just now hearing about this?" he asked through grit teeth.

Hades looked at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye, but despite his aloof appearance, the God of Underworld was tense and ready for battle. "Your son almost toppled Tokyo. Forgive me from trying to prevent the mass flooding of Japan."

Poseidon stood up, but Zeus slammed his bolt down with enough force to crack the marble. The _Olympian_ marble. "While our brother's decision to withhold this information is questionable, his logic is not. You have my condolences, Poseidon, I swear it on the Styx," thunder rumbled, "but we must decide on what to do with Perseus."

Poseidon's eyes glowed brightly as he looked at the God of the Sky. "If you think I'll let you kill my son…"

The hearth flared up again. "Of course not, Brother," Hestia said. "Young Perseus' life will be spared, but I agree with Zeus in that something must be done. The path my nephew follows in one of abject darkness, and that is something that cannot be allowed to continue, for multiple reasons. Any suggestions on what is to be done?"

Artemis was the first to answer. "I can turn him into a girl, and she can join my huntresses."

Hestia blinked, as did most of the council. "Oka~y, that's one suggestion. Anyone else?"

"Brainwashing."

"Draw and quarter."

"Turn him into a dolphin."

"Work in the forges."

"Plow the fields."

"Burn in hell."

"Therapy."

"Love of his family."

"Servitude for the dead."

"Turn him into a tree."

"Issue a quest to New Rome and have them retrieve Percy and bring him back to Camp Jupiter so that he can cool off and learn discipline and not be a mass-murdering child with too much power for his own good." Everyone stared blankly at Aphrodite. "What? I thought it was a good idea," she said meekly.

"No, actually…that's a great idea," Poseidon said.

Zeus jumped right on too because he saw an admittedly petulant opportunity to one-up his brother. "Yes, and Jason will lead this quest. All in favor say 'I.'"

Surprisingly, no one objected, not even Hera and Poseidon.

"Then it's settled. Jason will lead a contingent of Romans across the Pacific to Tokyo, Japan, and capture Perseus so that they can bring him to Camp Jupiter, where he will be put through military training to learn discipline and respect."

Because that is going to go over so _fucking_ well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **So it's been a month. Worked hard for several days to get this out. Personally, I think it was a strong return to the series, but others will more than likely disagree with me for reasons. Unfortunately, this is going back on the shelf for a bit, because I'm going to hop onto**_ _ **Xenomorphic**_ _ **then on**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, before starting up the writing factory again by putting**_ _ **Son of Jashin**_ _ **into the computers.**_

 _ **If I had to give myself a deadline for Chapter 1, I'd say by Halloween.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	15. Arrival of the New Romans

_Arrival of the New Romans_

 _ **Three stories in one night!? What!? How is this possible!? I'll tell you how: I got impatient and decided to post before Thanksgiving arrived.**_

 _ **Seems that this story is in a bit of a slump compared to its siblings, if some of the reviews I got last chapter are anything to go by. Well here's to hoping we get back in the good graces of those displeased, and if not…the earth will continue to spin.**_

 _ **Now, one reviewer brought up an excellent point about the Romans. At this point in time, just days before the**_ _ **Sea of Monsters**_ _ **is supposed to take place, the only Roman that the readers know, and can connect with on some level/care about, is Jason. However, this fic was labeled AU within the first twenty paragraphs with Sally being a Ghoul, so who says it can't be any more AU than it already is?**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or PJO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _May 29, 2007_

Jason Grace hadn't really encountered anything, or done anything, too extravagant or out of the ordinary, aside from summoning lightning and the occasional high-powered wind gust, but today definitely took the top spot on his list of 'Cool Things.'

It started out as an average day: wake up, work out, eat breakfast, join his cohort (and his friends Hazel and Frank, daughter of Pluto (his cousin (Yay!)) and son of Mars) for military drills and exercises, then lunch, then more drills for the rest of the day, then dinner, then war games…which ended with the Fifth Cohort's 'X' number of defeats…and a visit by Lords Jupiter and Neptune, and Lady Juno.

Which all culminated in the mother of all Senate meetings.

Usually, people with Jason's rank and below weren't allowed in meetings, even with his parentage, but divine magic had allowed for a bigger venue and the aforementioned gods felt that everyone needed to be present for this event. That included the people of New Rome, not just the Legion.

Personally, Jason was excited to _finally_ meet his father, but to put it mildly…he was blown off. Now, the young teenager understood that his father was a god, that favoritism wasn't allowed, that the Ancient Laws prevented direct interference in mortal affairs, and that Rome was built on strength and showing a weakness like parental love was basically taboo, but still. Was it so terrible to want to be recognized by his father? Especially when his mother and big sister were dead?

But enough exposition. Time for talking.

Lord Neptune spoke first, and boy was he straight to the point. "I have sired a son in Tokyo, Japan. His name is Perseus Jackson; however, he is more well-known by his alias: 'Kraken.' Currently, he has fallen down a dark path that will only end in misery and destruction."

Now Lady Juno picked up. "That is where all of you come in, mighty Romans. The gods have seen fit to rescue this child, and bring him here…to learn the arts of discipline, self-control, respect, and comradery."

Lord Jupiter finished off, looking right at his son. "My son, Jason Grace, will lead this retrieval mission, and that is non-negotiable. He will be allowed unlimited resources on this mission, due to the nature of its severity, and my own will. However, a word of warning to those wishing to volunteer.

"In Tokyo, you will find monsters more powerful than anything the Legion has ever faced before. These creatures have skin hard as diamond, strength enough rip apart men like paper, speed enough to outrun the fastest of vehicles, and senses sharp enough to rival any of Diana's maidens. These creatures take the guise of people young and old, male and female, thin and wide, short and tall, but do not be fooled. They will kill you, and eat you, if given the opportunity."

"When those chosen arrive in Tokyo," Lord Neptune continued, "seek out the establishment known as 'Anteiku.' There, you will ask to speak to a man by the name of Yoshimura. Tell this man that Percy's father has sent you, and tell him your intentions. Swear this by the River Styx, and all will be well."

The gods had issued their message, and now was the time for the closing statements. Juno was the first, looking directly at Jason.

"Do well, my champion." She faded out of existence.

Then Neptune focused on the boy, also fading away after his words. "Bring my son to safety, Nephew."

And Jupiter finished with perhaps the most impactful of words. "You have made me proud, my son."

The God of the Sky disappeared in flash of lightning, and a clap of thunder. The ultra-enlarged Senate venue was silent for all of ten seconds, before Jason broke the ice with a question. "So, uh…who want to go with me to Japan?"

The venue exploded with the noise of talking.

Due to all the people present, it was impossible for anyone to be heard over another. Not even the praetors, Vanessa the daughter of Venus, and Damian the son of Mercury, could restore order to the chaos that was the masses…until Jason's ears started ringing and he finally had enough of this _stercore_. His frustration fueled his anger, and his anger fueled his power, and his power called forth a smattering of lightning across the night sky, the proximity of which brought forth a clap of thunder that easily outstripped that of the people hollering and screaming.

Silence reigned once more.

"Thank you, Jason," Vanessa said. "Now that we have some quiet, a show of hands that wish to accompany Jason to Tokyo, to find and bring this wayward son of Neptune here to be taught as a Roman, as per the gods' instructions?"

It would've taken less time to count the ones that _didn't_ raise their hands. Frank and Hazel had their hands up first, though, something that touched Jason's heart almost as much as hearing his father say that he was proud of him. Still, Jason had no idea why so many people wanted to go with him to basically capture his own cousin and whisk him away to Camp Jupiter (it sounded more like kidnapping than a rescue operation, but hey) the more the merrier.

The problem was supplies. Did New Rome have the funds necessary to transport, uh…100-ish people to Tokyo, Japan either by plane or ship? Only one way to find out, Jason supposed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _May 30_

 _Tokyo Airport_

Jason did not know _how_ the Legion managed to buy an entire airplane's worth of seat tickets, although he did suspect there was some phone calls, some blackmail, a copious amount of gold, and some Mist, but he didn't care in the end. Because now he had another problem: transportation for 100 teenagers to wherever Anteiku was without looking suspicious as Pluto.

In an amazing stroke of luck, all the Romans got all their luggage back, made it through the security checkpoints without causing an international incident, _and_ found several black suburbans waiting for them outside. Praise Fortuna.

Jason looked at those behind him, all decked out in jeans, purple t-shirts, and gold armor, then at all the men, women, and children dressed in casual clothes, or business attire. Well, they knew the area better than any Roman did, so it might stand to reason that they would know where to find Anteiku. So Jason approached the closest Japanese person around.

"Excuse me, sir. Would you happen to know where to find Anteiku?"

The man blinked, and Jason was fearful that he didn't speak English, until he smiled kindly. "Of course, American-san."

What proceeded next was a bunch of directions, pointing, questions, and head nods. And a mix of cultural difference involving a handshake and a bow. Jason would forever remember that moment as one of the most awkward in his life.

The son of Jupiter returned to his comrades, who were all standing there awkwardly, and relayed the directions given to him by the man. The Romans piled into the suburbans, ready to find this Anteiku place. Now they just had to be on the lookout for any of those _monsters_ the gods spoke of.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After about an hour of weaving through traffic, asking for directions (just to be sure), winding through turns and streets, and keeping a sharp eye for anything out of the ordinary, the procession of Romans found the place known as 'Anteiku.'

It was an admittedly nice looking place. Quaint coffee shop with the smell of pastries and beverage wafting from the door, smiling families and couples enjoying the brew outside and inside, and the floors above denoted that the workers might possibly live here as well. It created a distinct homey and welcoming kind of feel.

Since this was Jason's mission (assigned by the _gods_ themselves), he was the one who chose who to go with him inside. He chose Hazel and Frank, because they were his friends, Vanessa, who left Damian to hold down the fort, and Eric, a massive son of Mars who was a practitioner of the 'Big Stick' philosophy…just in case things went South.

With a deep breath to steel his nerves, Jason crossed the street, friends in tow, walked up the brick steps, and immediately felt like he was back at the Wolf House. Every occupant of the coffee shop paused in their conversation to stare at the Romans, even the waiters, an older man, a teenage girl, a young man in his early 20s, a man with a bulbous nose, and a woman with black hair, were staring at them. The welcoming atmosphere was instantly gone.

"Um…is there a Mr. Yoshimura around here…?" Jason asked hesitantly.

The older gentleman behind the counter answered. "That would be me, young man. May I ask why you are here?"

Jason glanced at the consumers, feeling that this was a conversation best held in private. Mr. Yoshimura must have sensed this as well, because he spoke up in a powerful, commanding voice that did not fit with the previously kind smile he had before the Romans arrived. "Everyone, we are closing for the day for a private event. Everything is on the house, and if you did not receive your order, then I apologize. Merely remind me of this the next time you visit, and you will receive the premium discount."

The guests didn't argue with this, merely standing up and leaving. The Romans shuffled to the side to not impede those leaving, but they could all feel the cold shoulder. One pair fraternal twins, boy and girl, maybe ten years old, glared at Jason. The son of Jupiter felt bad for them because it looked like they were having a good…then he felt his blood freeze and his breath hitch when the children's' eyes flashed red and black…then they were normal eyes again.

Jason swore he saw something, but it was so quick he just brushed it off as his imagination, however, looking at his comrades, the young demigod knew that he wasn't hallucinating. They all looked just as shaken up as he did.

The door shut with a slow creak, and Jason felt like he had just been sealed into the lions' den.

"Now then, young man," Yoshimura said. "Why are you here?"

Jason gulped, but a firm hand from Hazel and Vanessa gave him the confidence to step forward and relay his message and his mission. Still he couldn't fight the feeling that he was walking on ice thinner than paper.

"Perseus Jackson's father has sent me here to bring Perseus to New Rome, because he's going down a dark path. Uh, while there, we'll teach him about being a Roman and stuff, and uh, yeah, that's about it. Oh, I swear on the River Styx that I'm telling the truth."

Thunder rumbled overhead, sealing the oath.

When nothing happened, the girl stepped up. She was tall, taller than Jason at least, had blue hair, with her bangs swept to cover her right eye, leaving her left blue one visible. Her skin was pale, and she carried herself with an air of authority, power, and hostility. Jason reached into his pocket, gripping his magic coin.

The girl stopped about one foot away from the tense Romans…and sniffed them.

"Oh yeah. They're demigods alright, but they smell weird. So, you and your _daycare buddies_ are the ones the gods sent to do… _what,_ exactly? Kidnap my little bro and whisk him off to some place called New Rome? If you didn't swear that on the Styx I would've killed all you where you stand before doing the same to the other brats in those vans."

Jason's jaw dropped at the girl's statement, and at her knowledge of what the Styx was, and her familiarity with the gods. In all honesty, Jason was fully expecting to have to deal with men in white coats, and have a very long, detailed, and drawn-out explanation that the Roman gods were real and what-not, but damn. More questions than answers with this one.

"You…know about the gods?"

The girl glowered down at Jason, making him sweat.

"Yeah I know about the gods. Percy's my little brother-"

"You're a daughter of Neptune!?" Hazel blurted. Her face reddened. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"He's adopted," the girl cut in, annoyed. "And I don't know who the hell Neptune is, and I don't give a fuck, honestly, but I do know that all of you are wasting your time, getting in our way, and are just being a general annoyance in my life. So please leave my coffee shop and go back to wherever the hell it is you came from. You're not needed here."

The other staff members didn't look too happy with the terminology used, but neither did they refute the girl's words. As for the Romans, all five of them, even Eric, were shocked at how they were just…dismissed like that. And Jason was a little peeved. He flies all the way over here from California on orders from his patron, uncle, and _father_ to bring his wayward cousin back with him to New Rome, only for his cousin's apparent adopted sister to tell them to basically screw off.

Just what was this girl's problem? Who did she think she was to order _him_ , the son of fuck-mothering _Jupiter_ around? And just what in _Pluto_ was going on in this city!?

"What's happening here?" Jason asked frustratedly. "What trouble is Percy in to where the gods need us to come save him?"

"That's none of your-"

"Touka!" Yoshimura said sharply. The girl fell silent, a scowl on her face. The old man looked at the Romans, a dead-serious expression plastered on. "You are all very brave to come here in light of the circumstances. Tell me, did the gods inform you of what you will find here if you run into the wrong people?"

"They said that we would encounter monsters here…monsters that were super strong and fast, and um…ate people," Frank said. His first words in a while. Yoshimura nodded. "Indeed. That is an apt description of the monsters you will find. However, here in Tokyo, we have a name for these monsters: they are known as Ghouls.

"Do not be fooled by the name. These Ghouls are not spindly creatures covered in decaying flesh that have the intelligence of lowly animals. They are smart, they are powerful, and they require human flesh to survive in this world, much like humans need the meat of animals."

"You seem to know a lot about Ghouls…" Vanessa observed.

Yoshimura smiled. "I should hope so, my dear," his eyes cracked open-the Romans froze, "someone had to teach young Perseus how to be discreet in hunting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that night_

"…oh my gods," Jason said stupidly. Shock was to be expected after hearing the story of Ghouls, humans, the CCG, Sally Jackson, and Perseus Jackson. The Romans had to agree though, if just because of their own teaching, that Percy's ambition for vengeance was not going to end well for anybody, but nor could they fault the boy for what he was doing.

His own _mother_ taken from him by a couple of people whose job was to kill Ghouls…and another Ghoul by the name of Jason. That was a seriously unfortunate coincidence, and Jason _Grace_ could just smell the amount of conflict that his mere name was going to incite when he encountered Percy.

Everyone was packed into the upstairs meeting room, with the five Romans being given the couches, and the Ghouls standing around them. The rest of the Romans had checked into nearby hotels for the night, as per their praetor's orders.

Jason, Frank, Hazel, Eric, and Vanessa had been introduced to Kaneki, Touka, Kaya, Enji, Nishio, Yomo, Hinami, and Yoshimura.

"All of you are Ghouls?" Hazel asked. She was met with a _lot_ of black and red eyes. Even Hinami had activated her kakugan, and Kaneki had raised his eyepatch. "Why do you only have one eye?" the daughter of Pluto asked.

"Oh, I'm only half Ghoul. There was an accident over a year ago, and the doctor had to transplant Ghoul organs into my body so I could survive. It had some interesting effects," Kaneki explained, rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed expression. Hazel just nodded, not even bothering to wrap her had around the science involved in that.

"I still don't see why we're bothering with these people," Touka said. "Anyone of us here can easily take them all down at once, so I don't get why we're letting them stay when they're here for Percy, someone who can easily rip them apart. They're all going to end up dead if they try their dumbass mission."

"Indeed, Percy would kill them all because he is too powerful for them, but us being there would more than tip the odds in our favor," Yoshimura said, his signature smile back on.

As she registered her grandfather-figure's words, Touka's world came grinding to a halt. "Wait! Are you seriously going to help them capture Percy? _Our_ Percy—and take him to some paramilitary daycare!?"

Instead of Yoshimura answering, it was Nishio that took the stage in a surprising turn of events. "Look, Touka. We don't know where Percy is, what he's doing, or what he's planning. All we know is that he sacked the entire 11th ward branch office in a single night, killing over 200 people in less than ten minutes. The only thing we have go one is that Percy _might_ still be in the 11th ward, and he _might_ be about to attack another branch office. What we know _for sure_ is that the CCG is massing an assault force the size of a small army to take back the 11th ward, and that they've issued a kill-on-sight for the Kraken.

"Percy's strong, we all know that, but even he can't take on the entire CCG, and the last thing I want, the last thing any of us want, is for Percy to get done in early because he tried to bite off more than he could chew. Personally, I agree with you and think that these kids are dumb, but they also represent a way out for Percy. He's unstable right now, his mom's death really getting to him…I think some time away from here is what he needs, before things get too wild, and he can't escape."

After that monologue, Touka had a full magazine, and was ready to start unloading. "Spare me your bullshit, Nishio. Percy isn't that dumb enough to attack all of CCG, and the last thing he needs is to be separated from the family he has left! Yeah he's unstable, so sending him away is stupid, and is asking for him to slaughter every single one of those demigods at that place. And if any of you think that Percy will just lie down and let himself be captured, you're dead wrong."

"Yes, Percy will not go quietly, however I support Nishio's argument more than I do yours, Touka. Therefore, tomorrow night, when the CCG launch their assault on the 11th ward, we will all be there, helping these young demigods in their mission. Once we subdue Percy, we will let Jason and his friends take him back to New Rome" –Touka opened her mouth to argue why that was a bad idea— "in which you will also go with them, along with Yomo and Enji, to keep Percy in line."

Yoshimura's face became serious. "My decision is final. Kaya, show our guests their rooms for the night. The rest of you go ahead and prepare for tomorrow evening. There is a great battle coming, and it will be upon us shortly. I expect all of you to be ready."

Everyone nodded, even Hinami and Kaneki.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaya led the last of the children, Jason, to his room. The two girls had their own, and the other two boys had their room, but it wasn't big enough for a third occupant. Luckily, the multi-story building had plenty of spare rooms for guests. The Black Dog opened the door, revealing the dark suite, and flipped on the light.

It was the same room Hide had occupied during his temporary stay here.

Jason entered, placing his bag on the bed. Kaya gave him direction as to where the toilets, showers, food pantries, etc. were to be found, wished him a good night, and made to leave for ether her own room here, or her apartment a few blocks away, but Jason called out to her.

"Excuse me!"

"Hm?"

"I was just wondering…Mr. Yoshimura said that there was a rating system among the Ghouls, from C-class to SSS-class…what does the Kraken—I mean Percy, rank?"

Kaya stared at the boy from the corner of her eye, evaluating him, debating on how scared that knowledge would make him. The Ghoul _did not_ want to deal with wet sheets when she arrived for work in the morning. Well, here's to hoping Jason had a strong spine.

"Percy is a SSS-rated Ghoul."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **That's that. An info chapter, lots of talking, but it sets up the events for the next chapter, which will be violent. Also, I need to know: do y'all want Jason to be a half Ghoul, or do y'all want him to remain a demigod? I feel I should have a poll, but that would take too much effort. Instead, I shall simply take an unofficial vote via reviews! So, for Ghoul!Jason, specify that in your review. For Demigod!Jason, specify**_ _ **that**_ _ **in your review.**_

 _ **On a side note, I have another fishing tournament this Saturday at Lake Fork, so expect**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **'s next installment sometime between Monday and Thanksgiving.**_

 _ **Don't forget, Fav, Follow, and Review please!**_


	16. The 11th Ward Pt 2

_The 11_ _th_ _Ward Pt. 2_

 _ **My God, it's been over two months since this story was updated, and for that I am terribly sorry.**_

 _ **That being said, after this chapter, I'm updating**_ _ **Xenomorphic**_ _ **and**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, then I'm beginning work on the**_ _ **Assassin's Creed**_ _ **crossover…whose title is still pending. Bottom line, this poor fic is going back on the shelf right after it just came off. Also, due to a landslide of votes, Jason will be remaining a demigod.**_

 _ **Alright, after re-reading this entire story (and kicking myself in the ass for all the obvious grammar and spelling issues), I got my muse back, and now have a plan for going forward. At least for this chapter, because when it comes time for things after the first episode after Season 2, I'm lost. Should I cover Root A, and then transition to**_ _ **Titan's Curse**_ _ **, or read the online manga and cover**_ _ **that**_ _ **before transitioning to**_ _ **Titan's Curse**_ _ **?**_

 _ **On a side note: who's ready for kakuja!Percy to take the stage!?**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Tokyo Ghoul of PJO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _May 31, 2007_

 _08:00 A.M._

 _11_ _th_ _Ward Branch Office_

In the meeting hall, the elite of Aogiri Tree were gathered under a singular bright light. All masks were on, and all were listening to Tatara as the highly intelligent Ghoul relayed the plan of defense against the incoming CCG assault due to arrive tonight. Or rather, most were listening. Eto was multitasking, and Percy was distracted…because his kinky girlfriend had her hand down the back of his pants, playing with his butt.

In any normal relationship, the roles of the one doing the kneading and the one allowing it to happen would've been reversed, but the nature of 'Perceto' was far from normal. One, they were Ghouls. Two, there was a ten-plus age difference. Three, Eto wore the pants. Four, Percy's sexual knowledge was limited. And five, Percy had a severe lack of masculine role-model in his life (Enji was a distant uncle, Yomo was a fighting instructor, and Yoshimura was too old), with his main models being his deceased, loving mother, and his (past) doting, overbearing, overprotective big sister.

Please forgive the fatherless thirteen-year-old for being a bit more feminine and submissive than what was generally accepted for a boy.

Didn't change the fact that said boy was a SSS-rated Ghoul with a kakuja.

Then Eto's finger brushed against something that Percy was _not comfortable with being touched_. The young Ghoul yelped from beneath his mask, and leapt about ten feet away from Eto, who was giggling like mad from underneath her bandages. Her little stunt attracted the entire room's attention.

Tatara sighed in exasperation, his narrow black-and-red eyes staring at the shortest Ghouls present. _"Do you two have to copulate here? Can you not find a room?"_

" **That's what I'm saying!"** Kraken muttered.

Eto just giggled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Anteiku_

 _8:30 A.M._

Jason's eyes snapped wide-open as his internal alarm clock, honed from years of waking, blared loudly within the son of Jupiter's head. Momentarily confused as to why he was in a seriously comfortable bed as opposed to his usual hammock at the barracks, Jason sat up in a flash, assuming he had been kidnapped and was now being held hostage by someone/thing.

Then the synapses reconnected, and the memories returned in a flood. Right then; Percy Jackson, cousin, son of Neptune, Ghoul, Kraken, SSS-rated, rescue, bring to New Rome, teach, quest issued by gods. Jason breathed in deeply. This was going to be one Pluto of a day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Using the bedroom's facilities, Jason relieved himself, took a shower, brushed his teeth, and put on clean clothes for the day, before heading down stairs to get an understanding of what was going to be happening during his and his comrades' stay here. Hopefully discuss a plan to find, subdue, and ship Percy to New Rome…not necessarily with that terminology, but the same effect was there.

However, as Jason was walking down the hall, the bluenette, Touka Kirishima, conveniently walked out of her room, fully dressed and ready to go. The two teens locked eyes, and Jason suddenly felt like he was back at the Wolf House, being stared down by several ancient canines ready to tear him apart. The son of Jupiter audibly gulped.

After what seemed like an eternity, Touka finally broke eye contact, turning her back to the half-blood. "Follow me."

"Huh?"

Touka glared at Jason from over her shoulder, her iris red and her sclera black. "I told you to follow me, not ask questions."

Another door opened up further down the hall, and Vanessa the Praetor stuck her head out. "What's going on out here?" the teen glared, clearly having overheard the conversation.

Touka's didn't bat an eye at being stared down by the praetor. "I told Jason to follow me; I don't remember bringing you into this."

"And what makes you think I'll just let you abduct one of my legionnaires?"

"Not like there's anything you could do to stop me, but we're wasting time. My shift starts at 1:00. Feel free to come with us—Hell, feel free to bring your entire daycare, I don't give a damn."

"You still haven't what told what you plan to do," Vanessa glared.

Red veins began to spread from Touka's iris to the skin around her eye. "Practice."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _20_ _th_ _Ward_

 _Generic abandoned warehouse_

 _9:13 A.M._

As it turned out, Vanessa did bring her entire daycare. Not that Touka gave a shit; it just meant that she could her point across to multiple people at once.

The Ghoul stood in front of the hundred-or-so Romans, with all of them standing in a clumped semi-circle around her. "Alright," Touka addressed the crowd, "I think you're all idiots for coming here, dumbasses for staying, and retards for even attempting what you're here to do. But, that's not why I decided to waste my time. I'm here to day to do two things: A) showcase just how pathetically weak all of you are against a Ghoul, and B) try to convince you brats to leave before you all die, and go back to wherever the fuck you came from. Now, I want the most physically fit bitch here to step forward."

There was muttering and shuffling among the Romans as they decided among themselves who the most physically fit person was, although there was little desire to step forward because of the 'bitch' part. No self-respecting Roman would answer to the term 'bitch.'

Finally, the praetor had enough. "Eric, get out there," Vanessa said.

"But, ma'am-"

"Quit being a bitch. Move it, soldier!"

Eric was a large specimen, even for children of Mars standards. The young man clocked in at 6'3, 340lbs of muscle, tanned skin, close-cropped military hair, narrow, brown eyes, and a jaw line so masculine it looked like he could hammer nails with it. The son of Mars could've easily won _every_ weight-related Olympic sport. And now he was up against a well-trained Ghoul.

Touka looked up at the large teen, clearly unimpressed. She moved to where her side was visible to the Romans, and Eric moved to, giving his comrades a perfect view to whatever the Ghoul had in mind.

"Now then," Touka said, "I'm going to show you how outclassed you are when fighting a Ghoul."

That brought a round of snorts and muffled laughter. _Seriously?_ thought the Romans, _a 'Ghoul' is more powerful than a demigod? Get outta here!'_

Eric looked torn between acknowledging the strength of a Ghoul, and boasting about his own might. He settled for a stance, his brown eyes narrow and ready for combat.

"Come at me, Eric."

The son of Mars growled, before charging Touka with a war cry. One could've sworn that the ground started shaking. Now, when the half-blood was about three feet away, Touka simply disappeared—at least to the Romans' cognitive processing. To a C-class Ghoul, the Rabbit streaked around the charging behemoth. Either way, Touka was suddenly right behind Eric.

She lazily reached behind her, kakugan glowing with boredom, gripped the Roman's purple t-shirt, and hurled the son of Mars clear over her head and into a support beam like he weighed no more than a baseball. Eric didn't die on impact (demigod physiology did, in fact, provide a slightly more durable body than the average mortal), but he did break several bones, and was instantly unconscious. The children of Apollo were quick to rush to the young man's side, and instantly began applying healing magics and other remedies.

Vanessa was too stunned to have a freak-out over one of her legionnaires being critically injured.

"What you just saw was an example of a Ghoul's speed and strength," Touka said, brining attention back to her, "and that was me holding back. _Way_ back. I could've easily punched a hole through him, decapitated him, broke his neck, crushed his skull, etc. etc., but you know. Trying _not_ to kill any of you."

One Roman, a boy who was actually really close to Eric in a brotherly way, had a complete meltdown. The boy drew his gladius, screamed above the top of his lungs, and ran as fast as he could at Touka. The Ghoul stepped to the side avoiding the first slash, and then stood there when the boy slashed at her again.

The Imperial gold blade glided through her neck.

"Another thing we Ghouls are…is mortal. Your weapons won't work on us."

So overcome with rage the boy was, that he didn't even care about what was said, and just slashed again. The golden blade clanged loudly against blood and fire. The Romans gasped loudly, and Touka would look into how her kagune could block divine weapons later. For now, intimidation class.

"This is a kagune," Rabbit began to lecture, "It is one of four main types. Mine is an Ukaku." With a lazy flick, she sent the angry boy skidding back. He screamed and charged again, only for the dancing wing to crystalize with a spark of lightning. Several shards shot out, pinning the boy to a concrete beam, which tore multiple holes into his clothes.

"Ukaku kagunes are located on the upper shoulder, and usually take the form of a wing. They're light, flexible, durable, and can harden into crystal to fire long-rang projectiles. The other kagunes are the Koukaku, Rinkaku, and the Bikaku. In order, Koukaku kagunes form between the shoulder blades, and typically take the form of drills and large blades. Rinkaku kagunes form at the lower back, and take the form of a varying number of tentacles…that's the kagune Percy has, and he's a master with it. The final kagune type is the Bikaku, which come out just above your ass, and it looks like a thick tail."

Touka took a breath as she finished her lecture. "Look, I'm telling you brats all of this so you'll leave and save yourselves. We at Anteiku can handle this, and none of you have to die. Ghouls are stronger than you, faster than you, more durable than you, and we can't be hurt by your swords and shit. So, all of you do yourselves a favor: go back to wherever it is you came from, and stay there."

Her piece said and done, Touka calmly walked through the crowd, the Romans parting to allow her passage. The Rabbit was ten paces away from the door out, when she heard Jason speak.

"I see why Percy left now."

Touka _froze_. "What…?"

"Percy left—I get it now," Jason said, standing apart from the crowd, his electric blue eyes glaring at the she-Ghoul's back. "He was tired of dealing with your crappy attitude. You're so pessimistic, negative, moody, always bad-talking the world. Percy probably left to find sunshine or something.

"We came here to do what _you_ obviously can't: rescue my cousin. If you could've done that yourself, you would have by this point. Clearly, the gods saying that we're needed here is true, and it's clear that _you_ can't get over yourself. So, no. We're not going anywhere, you can't scare us off, and we're not leaving until we have Percy."

His speech ended, Jason readied himself for the eruption of emotion. He prepared to be impaled, crushed, bludgeoned, thrown, tossed, strangled, throttled, and/or eaten by the female carnivore in front of him. Jason waited for all-encompassing wrath that was an overprotective sibling to wash over him like a flood. It never came.

Touka just looked over her shoulder at Jason, and the half-blood felt his bravado melt away into the Void at the cold, dead, empty, and _broken_ look in that big, blue eye.

"I hope you don't say any of that to Percy, I really do, because if he hears that all of are planning to drag him off to some daycare…he'll eat you all alive."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Anteiku meeting room_

 _7:45 P.M._

"Aogiri Tree, you say?" Yoshimura asked quietly. It was almost time for the Ghouls of Anteiku to gather and discuss what to do about the future. Right now, the Owl was having a private conversation with the Raven, otherwise known as Yomo.

The man just nodded silently, his face unreadable.

Yoshimura sighed heavily, his eyes cracking open to reveal his ever-active kakugan. "Percy…just what are you doing, young man?" The Owl looked up at Yomo, "Is this information reliable?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then no doubt the CCG has heard this as well. And you're positive that it's the abandoned shopping mall in the 11th Ward that Aogiri calls home, and _not_ the Branch Office?"

"One-hundred percent, sir."

"Very well then…no doubt the doves will be launching a massive attack this evening in an attempt to kill the Kraken and liberate the 11th Ward, all the while disposing of Aogiri's forces. Yomo, call the rest of the family. It's time for the meeting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Anteiku_

 _8:02 P.M._

All the Ghouls were now gathered. Yoshimura at the head of the couches, Yomo standing silently behind him. Kaya and Enji occupied the left couch, the one closets to the door. Ryouko and Hinami sat cuddled on the couch closest to the window, with Nishio leaning against it, and Kaneki beside him. Touka sat in the chair opposite of Yoshimura and Yomo. The Rabbit seemed to be consciously ignoring the few Romans present in the room.

Against the wall next to the door, Jason, Hazel, and Vanessa stood, looking visibly shaken and subdued. Touka had told the elder Ghouls about what she had done to the Romans, and while she was reprimanded for her methods, she was not, however, faulted for performing them period. It was an accepted fact by all, even Kaneki, that the foreigners needed a taste of what they were getting in to, otherwise they'd be caught completely off-guard, and end up as someone's dinner.

"Before we begin, I would like to let everyone in a new development: Perseus had left Anteiku to join a Ghoul organization known as 'Aogiri Tree.' This organization is responsible for the fall of the 11th Ward Branch Office," Yoshimura said grimly.

Only the Romans gaped in surprise. The Ghouls of Anteiku seemed to just take this news in stride. Perhaps they had always known in the back of their minds that Percy had left them, and the information that confirmed this only seemed to ease their mind at having the truth now fully revealed. Although it should be noted that Touka bit her lip, and Kaneki gripped his shoulder's noticeably tighter.

"Moving forward, I want you all to something," the One-Eyed Owl said grimly, "Forget about ever seeing Percy again."

 _That_ got a reaction. Hinami yelped, Kaneki gasped, his eyepatch falling off, Kaya, Enji, and Ryouko closed their eyes as a phantom pain racked them, the three Romans dropped their jaws, stunned, and Touka and Nishio both voiced their objection extremely vocally.

"What the hell did you just say!?"

"Are you crazy, sir!?"

Nishio glanced at Touka, noted the ungodly fire in her eyes, and promptly let her have the stage.

"'Forget about ever seeing Percy again'? I'm sorry but… _fuck you_ , sir." Her kakugan spread to life. "Have you forgotten our policy, old man?" Touka stood, her hair falling to where both of her eyes were visible. "If you're not going to save Percy, then I will. I'll go alone if I have to."

"No, I'll go with you."

Touka whipped to face the one who spoke, "Kaneki-!"

"Percy's my friend, and I won't abandon him to a life of murder."

Nishio rubbed the back of his neck. "Damn it, man, now I look like a bandwagon. I owe the kid one; count me in."

Hinami leapt from her mother's lap, and tugged on Touka's skirt. "I want to help Percy, too! If he's hurting, then I want to help not hurt anymore! It's the least I can do."

"Hinami…" Touka said quietly.

"It appears there's been a misunderstanding here," Yoshimura said, a smile tugging at his lips. "I am in no way abandoning Percy—I always planned on rescuing him. I would never abandon a Ghoul in need, especially not one of our own. That being said," Yoshimura's tone changed, "I cannot guarantee your lives. If you want to save Percy, you'll have to be willing to risk everything. It will be tough, but Yomo and I will there to protect you. After all," Yoshimura smiled kindly, "It is Anteiku's policy to help those in need."

Touka gasped, clearly relieved to hear those words.

"We'll help too," Jason said. "We might be able to do much, but…we can still lend a hand."

"Thank you, young man. You show great courage for one so young. Oh, and there's one more thing. You can come in now!"

The door to the room opened.

"Sooooo, I hear little Persia has gotten herself into a spot of trouble," Uta drawled lazily.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _1_ _st_ _Ward_

 _8:45 P.M._

Special Class Investigator Shinohara Yukinori calmly opened the door to the central briefing hall, Juuzou right behind him. "The civilian evacuation has been completed."

Marude grabbed the mic, a hyped look on his face. "Let's kick some ass!"

The men stood to their feet as one, a singular 'yes, sir!' roaring throughout the hall.

Dozens of transport vehicle headlights flashed to life, and hundreds of CCG soldiers piled in, all of them dressed in full combat gear, and armed with either Q-bullet equipped guns or Quinques, depending on rank. The busses began to pull out en masse, escorted by multiple police vehicles. Meanwhile, the news was on

" _At this moment, a joint force of over 1,000 CCG and law enforcement officials are standing by, waiting for the word to storm the 11_ _th_ _ward. The leader on the scene is the man responsible for locating the Ghoul base, Special Investigator Marude Itsuki."_

The man himself was suddenly aired on TV, holding a mic to his mouth.

" _We've staked our lives on this op, and we guarantee the safety of up to 99% of the population. As for the remaining one, their lives hinge on the rest of you working together. With your cooperation, I know we can bring peace to the 11_ _th_ _ward."_

The TV cut back to an aerial view of the massive force of Ghoul-killers.

" _That was Special Investigator Marude. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the brave men and women who are risking their lives tonight to reclaim the 11_ _th_ _ward from SSS-rated Kraken and his allies."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _11_ _th_ _ward mall_

 _9:00_

" _They got here sooner than we thought,"_ Eto observed from her perch. On top of the mall was the rest of Aogiri Tree's higher-ups, including the Bin Brothers, Black Rabbit, Noro, Tatara, and Kraken.

" _Yeah,"_ Tatara said, but he didn't sound worried. _"Bin Brothers, you're in the main building."_

" _Right!"_

" _Kirishima, you take the annex."_

" _You got it."_

" _Let's get going, Eto. You can take it from here, Noro."_

The silent Ghoul remained silent.

" **And me?"**

Tatara looked at the much smaller Ghoul from out the corner of his eye. _"That's for Eto to decide."_

The Kraken looked at his bandaged girlfriend, eagerly awaiting instruction. Eto did not disappoint. _"Kill everything that isn't a Ghoul."_ The true One-Eyed Owl brought her much-younger boyfriend close, moving his mask up, parting her own bandages, and kissed him full on the lips. The other Ghouls had all left for their designated assignments, aside from Tatara, who rolled his eyes.

Eto's tongue easily slid into Percy's mouth, the older Ghoul effortlessly dominating the younger. In a show of greater possessive dominance, the Owl grabbed her boyfriend's ass with both hands, and began to softly caress. Eventually, air was needed, and the Ghouls broke apart.

Eto's right eyehole gleamed a most devious red. _"Make me proud, my little Sea Monster."_

Percy grinned at the pet name. **"Don't worry, I will…Flower Mummy."**

Eto beamed. _"That's my boy!"_

Tatara and the One-Eyed Owl departed for their destination, leaving the Kraken alone on the rooftop. His pants were uncomfortably tight, but enough time would fix that. Readjusting his mask, the SSS-rated Ghoul departed from the roof, heading for the front balconies. For some reason, he had a feeling that some CCG cretin was going to do something incredibly stupid, yet effective in gaining ground for his/her allies.

The Kraken wanted to be there to prevent that. This battle will also be an excellent time to test his kakuja. Percy was almost giddy with excitement over the prospect.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Okay, this was going to be much longer originally, covering the entire battle, but I remembered that it was almost exactly two months since this was last updated, and I was like 'Hell naw! We need an update!' So here is the update.**_

 _ **Yes, it is a cliffhanger, and yes, I said this was going back on the shelf after one chapter, then I would update**_ _ **Xenomorphic**_ _ **and then**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, but things can change depending on the will of the people, which brings me to this question:**_

 _ **Write another chapter of**_ _ **Green-Eyed Ghoul**_ _ **before moving on to others, or just move straight to others?**_

 _ **Let me know in the Review section after you've Faved and Followed!**_


	17. The 11th Ward Pt 3

_The 11_ _th_ _Ward Pt. 3_

 _ **Alright, due to an astounding amount reviews of people wanting another chapter of**_ _ **Ghoul**_ _ **before I move on to**_ _ **Xenomorphic**_ _ **and**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, here it is! The third official chapter in the 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **Ward Arc. We've all seen episodes 11 and 12 of the anime, we've all seen how Kaneki evolves into the white-haired badass we know and love, and we've all seen episode 1 of Root A (which I'm told sucks, but I enjoyed it).**_

 _ **However, due to the meteor that is the Kraken coming in and making massive ripples in the space-time continuum, differences than canon will be blatantly obvious and should be expected. Like Kaneki not being tortured, and Amon being dead, and the presence of those pesky Romans. Now, who's ready for some kakuja action!?**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or Tokyo Ghoul

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _11_ _th_ _ward mall_

 _9:10 P.M._

The CCG busses were rolling in, forming a square upon which the soldiers and policemen stood and hid behind, using massive shields for protection against ranged weapons. Already, hundreds of men and women had taken formation on the front, and a contingent of Ghouls were visible from the side of the mall, the windows having been shattered so the carnivores could use their guns.

The night was warm, the wind was nonexistent, the moon hung high in the dark blue sky, and the tension was so high that there was almost a visible wave in the air. Although, not everyone present on the soon-to-be-battlefield was a member of the CCG or Aogiri Tree. Off to the side, hidden behind bushes and out-of-the-way pillars, were the Ghouls of Anteiku.

Yoshimura, Yomo, Kaya, Enji, Uta, Ryouko, Nishio, Touka, Kaneki, and Hinami were all wearing the maroon cloaks of an Aogiri member, cloaks liberated in a not-so-clean-way. Along for the ride was Jason, because it as his mission, Hazel, for extra elemental power, and Vanessa, for chaperone and praetor duties. They, too, were wearing cloaks, and not one of them seemed to be happy about wearing a dead person's outfit. The rest of the Romans were hiding in the surrounding buildings, all of them being snuck in.

"You could hear a pin drop out there," Uta observed neutrally.

The silence of the night was shattered when a flare popped high above, turning the world white. Immediately, gun fire rang loud and true as no less than 200 full-auto weapons began to discharge hot lead. The flare light faded, but the muzzle flashes from the guns were still easily visible.

CCG and policemen began dropping like flies since the Ghouls were able to combine their kagunes for defense with the night-vision scopes of their guns for offence.

In the command bus, surrounded on all sides by monitors and screens, Marude was flabbergasted. "How the hell are they picking us off…?"

"Enemy forces are employing kagunes and scopes, sir," the man behind Marude said.

The Special Investigator's face contorted into one of annoyed vexation. "So the Ghouls fancy themselves soldiers, do they?" Marude promptly kicked the door of the bus wide open, "Come on, men! Don't let these bastards show us up!" Marude stormed forward, "Gimme that gun!" and took a stance at the edge of the defensive line, stock propped against his shoulder, sights narrowed.

He squeezed the trigger a few times, and two Ghouls went down in sprays and brains and blood.

"Did you see that!?" Marude thundered. "That's how you take out a goddamned sniper's nest, you sackless clods—hop to hit!" He shoved the gun into the hands of one soldier, and stormed back to the bus.

One man had some commentary, "What a badass…"

On his way back to the bus, Marude heard the familiar sound a motorcycle being revved up. More importantly, _his_ motorcycle. Looking over to the sound, Marude saw several men surrounding someone on a bike. "What's going on?"

"Your bike, it was brought over form headquarters!" said the man in the lab coat.

Marude paled when he saw who was on it, and he rushed forward. "Hold it, Stitches! What do you think you're doing with my bike!?"

"Ah, don't worry, 'kay!" Juuzou gunned the engine, shooting forward with a warble of surprise.

"HEY!" Marude screamed indignantly. Juuzou just cackled madly as…'he' went rolling forward. Meanwhile, Marude was having a complete mental breakdown. "What are you doing…nonononono…not that way-change direction you psychotic little ape-don't turn my baby to swiss cheese-why are you doing this to me!?" the man wailed, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Juuzou hit a flight of stairs with enough force to send him flying, and he giggled the entire time. Juuzou launched himself off the bike, reaching for his weapon. "Eeny…meeny…miny…" Everyone watched with jaws agape as the white-haired freak sailed through the air. Juuzou's eyes widened in mad glee when he locked on to a poor unfortunate soul.

"MO!"

Everything went silent when a pillar of black that was streaked with green came sailing down from above, crushing Juuzou into a bloody paste upon the concrete. CCG, Aogiri, and Anteiku alike all gaped in stunned horror at the sudden brutality. Yoshimura pulled the brim of his hood down. Hundreds of eyes followed the pillar's every movement as it _unwinded_ , unfurled, untwisted-whatever.

The motorcycle exploded in a show of fire and metal.

The pillar uncoiled, revealing that it was actually made of twelve individual tentacles. The tentacles, the tips red and dripping with blood, began to slide up—no; they began to _retract_ , back to their source. Hundreds of eyes tracked the tentacles on their way up, and those hundreds of eyes widened even further when the tentacles receded into the back of the Ghoul to which the belonged.

The Ghoul in question calmly sat on the edge of the mall's roof, with his right leg hanging over the side, and his left pulled to his chest. His left arm rested across his knee, while his right hung loosely down. The Ghoul was dressed in black combat boots that had black pants tucked into them. Specialized kneepads covered his knees, and a tattered, long-sleeved maroon cloak covered the Ghoul's torso. The cloak came with a hood, a hood that was pulled up and adorned with a pair of floppy ears. Covering the Ghoul's face was a coral-like mask that was smooth across the features, and gnarled out into several smaller branches at the edges. From the mask's empty eyeholes, two little green lights flashed to life.

The SSS-rated Kraken had joined the battle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _9:30 P.M._

Jason gaped. The white-haired girl, the way she died…so _brutal_. There was a literal crater of red paste in front of the mall, a paste that was smattered with clothes, mushed organs, and bone. Following the condensed swarm up, Jason saw another…person, wearing a cloak with floppy ears (something expected of a girl), wearing a black mask. Two little green dots glowed in the eyeholes.

"Is that-is that," Jason stuttered, completely stunned by what he was seeing, "is that… _Percy_?"

"Yeah," Touka said shortly.

She could smell it. Kaneki could smell it. _Hinami_ could even smell it. All the Ghouls present could smell it. The change. The change in Percy's scent. His scent lacked its common happiness, his childlike joy. It smelled bloodier, colder, more serious. There was another scent, a metallic one—one like Yoshimura's, only less…intense.

While the other Ghouls were beyond confused at the new scent of the boy they all presumed was just going through emotional turmoil at the sudden murder of his mother, Yoshimura knew better. Percy's scent was similar to his own because, like him, the son of the Death Angel was a _kakuja_.

That realization made Yoshimura realize something else: something was very wrong with Percy. This was beyond revenge. Becoming a kakuja, cannibalizing other Ghouls, there was more going on here. Percy was damaged, most likely emotionally and mentally. What was about to follow, Yoshimura came to understand, was not going to be a display of Percy-like fighting, but a show of carnage unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Even beyond Eto's messes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _9:34 P.M._

The silence of the night was once again pierced by the despairing wail of one Shinohara Yukinori as he registered that the boy he considered a fourth son had just been ruthlessly crushed by the Ghoul he once held a decent amount of respect for.

Oh, yes. Shinohara had respected the Kraken, as he appeared to be a Ghoul more focused on peace for his ward than the death of every CCG member. A Ghoul that wanted tranquility other than violence was an idea that the Special Investigator had readily got behind…then the news of the Kraken's murdering of Mado, Amon, and those two young Investigators reached him, and so did the reason behind it.

Revenge.

The Kraken's revenge against the CCG for taking away from his mother, the Death Angel. Shinohara only found pity for the young Ghoul, but that pity had steadily drained when news of the Kraken's deeds in the 11th ward came out, and the bodies (what was left of them) were found.

But now, with the death of Juuzou, all feelings of anything but hatred and fury dried up, and Shinohara wanted the Kraken's head mounted on his wall.

Screaming with all his rage, the Special Investigator sprinted forward, but the black and greenish-white armor that adorned him did something drastic. The armor turned a bright red, and warped and twisted itself, growing branches and horns, and formed a spiked guard over Shinohara's face. The RC cells of the Arata interacted with the RC cells within the Investigator, making his eyes glow a pure, venomous vermillion.

Shinohara's physical prowess was suddenly jacked up to over 9000, and the force with which he stomped the ground ended up cracking the concrete, and launched him impossibly high through the air. Shinohara crashed down upon the rood where the Kraken had been sitting, just a second after takeoff, and the impact force created a cloud of dust that obscured everything from the viewers below.

Rage betrayed Shinohara, as, in his berserker state, he failed to register the full grasp of his surroundings, such as the sounds of thousands upon thousands of mutated RC cells crackling and coalescing to form a creature straight from the bowels of Hell itself…or the ginormous fist that came sailing through the dust cloud.

The fist slammed straight and true into Shinohara's body, _shattering_ the man's cleaver-like Quinque _and_ his kakuja armor. The Investigator came sailing out of the smoke with a thunder clap, unconscious, most of his torso shattered/ruptured, and limp. The only reason Shinohara didn't die upon landing back on the concrete was that the other Arata-clad Investigator, Iwao Kuroiwa, intercepted his falling body.

Shinohara was beyond critical condition. Just ten seconds after Iwa caught him, his lungs filled with blood and he drowned in his own fluids.

Suddenly, a large misshapen figure blurred straight out of the dust cloud, the force of which blew the smoke completely away. The figure sailed high into the sky, and the angle with which it leapt made it so that the figure was silhouetted against the full moon, which obscured the figure further. The gravity took hold, and whatever that _thing_ was came crashing down right in the middle of the CCG formation, causing another massive cloud of dust to erupt, obscuring the creature once again from view.

Then came the roar.

The entire battlefield slammed their hands over their ears as the volume came barreling into them, shattering glass, rupturing eardrums, and causing the surrounding dust to be blown away, revealing the kakuja that Percy was encased in.

First off, he was _huge_ , easily standing—on two legs—at thirty feet, even while hunched. Humanoid in stature, with long, spindly legs that ended not in normal feet, but ones that had not toes, and extended out from the heel. Percy's arms were long and spindly as well, but they ended not with five fingers, but four, but a curled fist was still just as large as a man's upper body.

Then things got…demonic. For starters, Percy didn't have a face, per se. In fact, he didn't have much of a traditional head. From the neck up was a mass of something that was shaped like a fan, only it was twisted to where the crest was facing forward, instead of to the sides. The fan-like thing had no ears, no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. No features at all, just smooth flesh.

On Percy's back, connected to most of the surface, was a massive hunch of hardened flesh the size of a small house. The spherical mass was _huge_. And, covering the mass' surface was what had made the roar. Dozens of mouths, some like that of a crocodile or an alligator, protruded out, and, due to the size of the spherical hunch, each maw was wide enough to swallow a man _whole_. If that wasn't enough nightmare fuel, then the fact that each mouth was lined with razor-sharp teeth and had a Rinkaku tentacle for a tongue should do the trick.

To finish the picture, a ragged maroon loincloth covered Percy's crotch area. It is also of great importance to note that the flesh covering the whole of Percy's body wasn't skin-colored, or even the same black-and-green of his kagune, but was the color of bleached bone. Likewise, the gigantic hunch on the Ghoul's back was pure raven, and pulsed periodically with a tapestry of red veins.

So, to summarize, Percy was now a thirty-foot giant whose skin was the color of bones, whose crotch was covered in a maroon loincloth, whose arms and legs were long and thin (when compared the broadness of his new form), whose head was a sideways, featureless fan the size of a bus tire, and he had a small planet growing out his back, a planet dotted with tentacle-and-tooth-filled protruding mouths that only added to the kakuja's already-massive height. From the bottom of his feet to the top of the hunch, Percy was over 50 feet in height, and over 20 feet in width from one side of the hunch to the other.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _9:57 P.M._

The entire occupancy of the battlefield stared at the kakuja in horror, including Aogiri Tree and Anteiku. Even Yoshimura, a kakuja himself, stared at his adoptive grandson with wide eyes. Not even _Eto_ was that big.

"What the Pluto…is _that_?" Jason whispered.

"That's a kakuja," Touka answered vacantly. "After you eat enough Ghouls, your kakuhou is supposed to mutate into a new, more powerful form. But Percy…he wouldn't…he couldn't-"

"Touka."

"Y-Yes, sir?"

Yoshimura took a breath, then he spoke. "Everyone, the Percy we all know is dead. What's left is a vengeful beast that seeks nothing but destruction and death. For the sake of Percy's memory, that beast needs to be killed before it can bring even more chaos. If you can't bring yourself to deal a killing blow if the opportunity presents itself, leave now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _9:59 P.M._

" _Kakuja!"_

That random, terrified scream was enough to galvanize the entire army. All at once, hundreds of guns opened fire upon the Kraken, but their bullets merely bounced off the ultra-tough hide of the Ghoul. Even the Ukaku-type Quinques that were set up by several Doves did absolutely nothing to the Kraken, besides annoy him.

Someone decided to be brave (or was controlled by his abject terror) and rushed the Kraken's leg, brandishing a mass-produced Quinque. A sword of some kind. The weapon shattered harmlessly against the Ghoul's leg. Gun fire still peppered the Kraken, but that didn't stop him from casually picking the poor Dove off the ground, and tossing him into the air.

The man screamed as he flew, but his shrieks were cut off when a tentacle shot up, wrapped tightly around him, and reeled him straight into a gaping maw. As it turned out, those things weren't just for show, because the man screamed in pure agony as he was eaten alive.

The air was filled with the sound of cracking bone and tearing flesh. Blood flowed freely about the snapping mouth, with bits of viscera going flying about. With a final crunch, the mouth chewed up enough of the dove to be safely swallowed, and swallowed whole he was, except for a severed arm that went flying, but another tentacle lashed out, and reeled that little morsel into a different mouth.

No one had time to scream as dozens of tentacles began lashing out with blinding speed, wrapping around dozens of CCG and police, and reeled them all in with absolute authority. The mouths went to work, chewing men and women alive, grinding through bone and soft tissue with equal ease, before swallowing the chewed-up bodies, sending the bloody meat cascading down into the planet hat covered the Kraken's back.

Soon, primal panic overcame discipline, and not even the iron voice of Itsuki Marude could inspire a modicum of confidence. Instead, realizing the dire situation that his men were now facing, Marude radioed the 1st ward, and more importantly, the CCG headquarters. Inside the confines of the command bus, the Investigator was unware of the goings-on of the outside, and was therefore caught completely off guard when a massive hand ripped right through the roof of the bus, grabbed him, and lifted him out.

Marude didn't have much time to do anything, because the Kraken used his other hand to casually twist off the human's skull like the stem of a strawberry. The kakuja lazily tossed away the head, where it coincidentally landed right in front of the Anteiku Ghouls. The Kraken raised the corpse of his fan-like head. The middle of the fan cracked, before opening wide to reveal a fang-filled mouth.

The Kraken squeezed the body in his grasp, and a stream of crimson came flooding out of the neck. When the flow subsided, the Kraken began to shake the body of Marude, causing the dead man's guts to come sliding out. When it became apparent that nothing was going to come out so easily, the Kraken promptly dropped the body down his mouth, swallowing the entire thing whole.

Seconds later, one of the mouths on the Kraken's personal planet spat out a torn-up, blood-soaked business suit and coat. An ID badge in the wet slop had a picture of a smiling Marude. That same mouth promptly burped.

If the CCG hadn't been broken before, they certainly were now. Out of the 1,000+ men and women that had gone on this op, fewer than 600 now remained, both from a combination of Aogiri Tree's guns and the Kraken's own power. Most casualties came from the Kraken though. However, of those less-than-600, all of them were high-tailing it for anywhere other than the battlefield.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _10:12 P.M._

Ryouko had scooped Hinami up the second Yoshimura had finished his speech, and made a beeline for Anteiku. Hinami didn't protest; she was almost braindead after watching Percy eat dinner. The rest of Anteiku had stayed, though, even Kaneki, and so did the Romans. However, Vanessa had been sick, Hazel trembled and reeked of urine, and Jason was so numb right now, he might as well have been asleep with his eyes pried wide open.

The glassy-eyed head staring at him wasn't helping matters, either.

Touka had _tears_ slowly falling from both of her eyes. What on earth was she watching? Percy…Percy wasn't this brutal! He wasn't evil! He didn't maim his meals, he gave them a swift death! He didn't eat them alive! _Where was her little brother!?_

Yoshimura stepped forward, his face becoming covered by a self-made mask as several large branches began to emerge from the back of his cloak. The rest of the Ghouls donned their masks, their kakugan activating from beneath. Even Touka put on her Rabbit mask.

A hand on her shoulder made her look back, and she locked eyes (or eye) with Kaneki. His visible left eye was pure red and suspended in a void of ink, with veins of blood reaching from his iris to his skin. _"Don't worry. We'll get Percy back. I promise."_

His voice was warbled by his mask. Kaneki squeezed Touka's shoulder, before he followed the rest of his adoptive family out to face the youngest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _11_ _th_ _ward mall_

 _10:18 P.M._

One would think that, due to the Kraken's misshapen feet and the massive bulb on his back, he would be slow, unbalanced, and awkward when trying to move. That was _far_ from the case. The Kraken tore after the feeling swaths of humans, his massive weight shattering the ground with every step. After covering a hundred meters in just seven paces, the gigantic Ghoul leapt through the air, doing a 180 midflight, and landed with a crash right in the middle of a battalion of soldiers.

Many were crushed instantly, or were thrown away by the shockwave. Those alive suffered two fates: they were snatched up and eaten by the mouths on the sphere on the Kraken's back, or they swiped and flattened by his arms that whipped about in devastating arcs. Long story short, there were many random insides floating around without a body to call home anymore.

"Hey! Kraken! Over here!"

The SSS-rated Ghoul turned his sideways-fan-shaped head toward the one had spoken, and all of his mouths audibly growled. The fan split down the middle, revealing the fang-lined maw once again. The lips around the new mouth vibrated as a growl came from that mouth too.

The one to have spoken was Iwao Kuroiwa, whose description can be found on Google Images. The large, stocky man was glaring bloody murder at the Kraken, his body clad in the Arata armor. In his right hand was a shield-like Quinque, while a broken cleaver was held in his left. The Investigator's eyes were red and puffy, most likely from crying over his partner's death.

The Ghoul didn't care. Kuroiwa was an Investigator, Investigators had killed his mother, so anyone with direct affiliation to the CCG would be slaughtered in revenge for Sally's death. So sweareth the Kraken.

The Investigator roared and charged forward, brandishing his shield and cleaver like some kind of archaic night. Kraken just snorted. He rushed forward, the ground trembling beneath him. He kicked at the Investigator like a professional soccer player, but the human was faster than he looked, because he spun to the side, avoiding the leg.

Iwa slammed his shield Quinque into the Kraken's planted leg, and the strength behind the attack had enough force to send the gargantuan Ghoul toppling off-balance.

Dozens of tentacles shot out from all over the Kraken's back bulge, slamming into the ground all over the place. They acted like suspension cables, and the Kraken did not fall. Iwa raised his shield just in time to block the fist that came soaring after him, but the power behind the strike sent the older man flying.

Iwa just flipped midair, landing painlessly on his feet. Immediately, his shield was up, and his cleaver was flying. The flurry of tentacles came strong and true, and Special Investigator was on his toes in a superb effort to not be struck down. Kuroiwa's superior experience was gleaming gold in this instance, as he expertly maneuvered himself around the battlefield, blocking strikes and severing tentacles with practiced ease.

However, the Kraken's vastly superior _power_ came washing over the Investigator with sudden, unyielding wrath. Iwa's cleaver was knocked away after his arm was severed at the elbow; his shield was battered into a useless piece of metal, and tossed aside; his armor was shredded and stripped away by a barrage of attacks, leaving little bits and pieces of the Arata here and there on his body.

Two massive stomps told the barely conscious man that the Kraken was standing right above him. Cracking his eyes open, he confirmed that this was true. Kuroiwa closed his eyes again, accepting his fate. He heard a whoosh of air, relaxed his body, and heard a mighty clang. Cracking his eyes open again, the Investigator would've gaped if he had the energy.

The Kraken, the Ghouls Iwa hated most, was having his massive fist blocked by none other than the One-Eyed Owl himself.

Then Iwao Kuroiwa fell unconscious due to injuries upon his brain, and internal hemorrhaging. He would die minutes later after the Eyepatch Ghoul dragged his body to a safe location.

With a grunt, Owl threw the Kraken back, and the massive Ghoul struck out with his tentacles, digging into the ground to halt his movement. Several Ghouls blurred into existence around the Kraken, Ghouls that were all recognized by their scent, and their masks. The Devil Ape, the Black Dog, the Raven, No Face, Serpent, Eyepatch, the One-Eyed Owl, and the Rabbit.

Enji Koma, Kaya Irimi, Renji Yomo, Uta, Nishiki Nishio, Ken Kaneki, Yoshimura, and Touka Kirishima.

 _Touka_.

Why they were even here didn't _matter_ to the Kraken. There were no words exchanged, since the now-enraged (due to the belief that it was Anteiku's fault Sally had died) Kraken opted for a monstrous roar that shook the earth accompanied by an extremely mad dash for the cloaked Rabbit. While stunned by the oppressing Killer Intent, the female Ghoul was not so surprised as to not be able to scamper out of the way.

Devil Ape and No Face blurred forward, and knocked the Kraken's legs out from underneath him. The Ghoul crashed with a bang, but recovered quickly, being on his feet within seconds. He lashed out with a roar, _all_ of his tentacles whipping about in wild frenzy. Kagunes filled the air, and the eight Ghouls blitzed and danced across the torn-up battlefield, easily avoiding or blocking all strikes.

Suddenly, the Owl was in front of the Kraken, but his clearly smaller size did not hinder his attack prowess. The older kakuja cleaved right through the younger's massive legs, cutting him down to size, but a stray tentacle came shipping in from the side. The Owl caught sight of it just in time to block, but he was still sent skidding back several meters, with deep, profusely bleeding gashes along his forearms.

Now disconnected from the rest of the body, the misshapen legs of the Kraken's kakuja dissolved into oblivion. However, that did not mean that the Ghoul was immobile. It actually meant that he was several pounds lighter. Tentacles burst from beneath, shooting the Kraken up into the air.

Those same tentacles shot down, piercing the ground, and went rigged. The SSS-rated Ghoul now stood on many legs, and still wielded many blades.

" _Percy, stop! We're here to take you home!"_ Touka desperately cried.

A guttural growl came from dozens of mouths at once, and all of them spoke in tandem, creating a single, horrendous voice that would've sent shivers of fear running down the spine of Darth Sidious.

" **Home? Home to the people that let my mother die? Home to the bitch that called me a monster?"**

" _What? Who called you a monster?"_

" _ **YOU DID!"**_

The Kraken tore forward on his many legs, stabbing the ground into a concrete field of holes. Anteiku swarmed around him, their kagunes flashing and whirling about. Even Kaneki was holding his own against the onslaught, and he didn't even know _how_ to use his kagune. Anteiku made little dent in the Kraken's charge, and he was upon Touka in mere seconds.

The Rabbit didn't move when the massive hand came down, violently scooping her up, almost crushing her. Through gritted teeth, Touka managed to wheeze out, _"Percy, stop this. I never called you a monster. I promise."_

" _ **Lies,"**_ hissed the Kraken.

He squeezed harder, and Touka's mask fell off. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were red, blood trailed from the corners of her mouth, and she was _crying_. It gave the Kraken pause, enough of one to where Touka managed to ask, "What-what happened Percy? You ran up to your room, and I tried to talk to you, but you pushed me out with your kagune. What happened?"

The Kraken's breathing became labored. Because of a Ghoul's enhanced senses, they could easily smell the scents given off by a living thing. Going deeper, they could smell the chemicals in the blood stream that created emotions, and hear the beating of one's heart. In short, a Ghoul could almost read your mind based on what you were feeling and what your heart rate was. As such, the Kraken knew for a fact that Touka _was not lying_.

But…but that wasn't right!

" **But you-you said that…you came to my room, I told you what my plan was; tell the Doves where to find Mr. Fueguchi because Jason was after him, get Mr. Fueguchi out before everyone arrived, and then wait till Jason and the Doves weakened each other, and then finish them all off,"** Kraken said desperately.

Anteiku listened closely, a myriad of emotions flowing through them. Initial betrayal at the selling out of Ryouko's husband, impressed at the simplicity of an otherwise daring plan, and then pity at how the story played out in the end. But, it was confusion that reigned supreme in the end. Touka wasn't lying about her part of the story, and Percy wouldn't lie about her calling him a monster.

There was something very wrong with this situation.

" **After I told you all of that, I tried to…I tried to…but you pushed me away, and glared at me. You said I wasn't your brother, or your family. You called me a monster, and a murderer and-and-and you told me to run and never come back…"**

Touka gaped at what she heard, and she felt her heart constrict at the very thought of her ever saying those words to her little brother. But she didn't say those things! How could she prove to her Percy that she didn't—the River Styx. An unbreakable vow.

"Percy," Touka said firmly. "I swear on the River Styx I never said any of those things."

Thunder exploded across the planet, shaking the infrastructure, knocking out power all over the eastern hemisphere.

There was a paradox here. Against her will, and not at all to her knowledge, Touka _did_ say those things to Percy. She _did_ call him a monster and a murderer, and she _did_ denounce him as her brother and family member, and she _did_ tell him to run away forever. However, all of this was done under the influence, power, and magic of the Titan Lord Kronos. In other words, she said those things against her will.

In a normal circumstance, the Lady Styx would not have cared one way or the other. An oath in her name was still an oath, and it being broken was to be dealt with extreme consequences. However, the Fates had power that far outstripped that of the Lady Styx, and this was a situation that wasn't even supposed to be happening.

This entire dimension wasn't even supposed to exist, but it did.

This dimension was a 'crossover' dimension, meaning that it was one so far out of the way, one so far out at the edge of the _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ reality, that it accidentally bled over into another reality all together. Likewise, the _Tokyo Ghoul_ reality in question was also so far out of the way, that it also bled over into the _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ reality. This accidental union created a new multiverse labeled _Green-Eyed Ghoul_ , in which Perseus was born to the Death Angel, instead of a mortal named Sally Jackson.

But enough teaching.

In light of current events in _so many other_ dimensions, in which a wild, uncontrollable string of Percy Jacksons have suddenly emerged to wreak havoc across the time stream, the Fates decided that this was an excellent opportunity for some damage control, and had a conversation with the Lady Styx. Bottom line, Touka's oath was considered valid, legal, and true.

The battlefield went silent as the thunder faded…before Percy screamed as his psyche was suddenly shattered like fine china. His entire reason for everything he had just done…his entire motivation for the carnage he had just splattered across the earth…had been _false!?_

Touka _hadn't_ said those things!? But-but he heard her! Saw her face! Smelled her anger and disgust! Tasted the venom in her words! Felt the hatred she projected at him! She-she-she had called him m-monster! Denounced him! Cast him out! Percy knew she did!

 _BUT SHE HADN'T_

Japan shook as the psyche of the Earthshaker's son shattered into oblivion. The 11th ward mall crumbled into dust, and the explosives planted within prematurely detonated. Anteiku stumbled about, all the while clutching their heads as the uncountable number of mouths on the bulge on his back screamed in an unending wail of complete despair and confusion.

The kakuja began to disintegrate into dust, soon becoming nothing more than a rapidly disappearing torso that vanished to reveal a naked Percy Jackson, clutching the Quinque Morspiumtes tightly in his right hand. The screaming of his kakuja echoed faintly before fading completely, along with the earthquake.

Percy dropped to the earth, and Touka was quick to catch him. He was cold, shivering, and very, very weak.

"Tou…ka?"

"Hey, Little Bro. I'm here."

Tears crinkled at the corner of Percy's eyes. "I thought that…you…hated me…"

"No, stupid. I'm your big sister, remember? I can't hate you."

"Oh…that's…right…"

"Hey, come on now. You can't be clocking out on me yet, we've got work tomorrow. All-day shift, and I'm not letting you have a break either."

"Meanie…" Percy whispered halfheartedly. Touka managed to crack a smile.

The tears in the demigod's eyes fell down the sides of his face, dropping into his hair. "Hey…Touka?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." Percy fell unconscious due to exhaustion.

Touka immediately feared the worst, with her eyes widening and he mouth parting open to start screaming, but the sounds died in her throat when she saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. Touka sighed in relief, and stood up, still cradling her little brother in her arms bridal style. She looked at her masked family.

"Come on. We need to get back to Anteiku."

None of the present Ghouls argued, and they all followed the Rabbit into the dust cloud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Outside the 11_ _th_ _ward mall_

 _10:39 P.M._

Tatara wisely stayed silent as he stood next to his female comrade. Eto didn't say a word either, but her glowing eyehole spoke _volumes_ of the amount of fury coursing through her. The True One-Eyed Owl was not happy. Not happy at all. Whatever those Anteiku fuckers had said to her Percy had been enough for him to have some kind of mental breakdown before falling unconscious. Now he was back in the coffee-loving-fuckers' hands, and that did _not_ compute.

Eto's hands gripped the steel beam she was sitting on, and the metal screeched as it was shaped into a new form.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _11_ _th_ _ward mall_

 _10:42 P.M._

A helicopter flew directly over the ruins of the mall, and a figure clad in white dropped out, carrying two attaché cases with him, one in each hand. Despite dropping from such a height, the man landed on top of a large piece of rubble without incident, or even a grunt.

The white-haired man hummed as he surveyed the damage. "Looks like I'm a little late…"

Whatever person Eto had deemed worthy of being the next One-Eyed King clearly had some power, because not even the Owl herself could bring this much destruction.

The bespeckled man turned to look over his shoulder when he heard the sound of moving concrete. A small swarm of C and B-rated Ghouls crawled out of the wreckage like cockroaches.

"Then again," the Investigator picked up from his earlier sentence, "maybe not."

The Ghouls all collectively looked at the man that had spoken, and they all recoiled. One managed to stutter out, "T-The CCG's R-Reaper…"

The Reaper let out a casual breath, before he effortlessly slid into combat. The small battalion didn't stand a chance against the Reaper, and his Quinques were barely visible blurs through the air as he swiftly and mercilessly cut them all down. Not even a full minute later, all the Ghouls were dead, and the Reaper was standing on the other side of where they had sprung up.

Blood had splattered across the Reaper's face at one point, the right side, and some of the foreign blood had covered the man's right glasses lens, leaving only his left eye visible.

"This child you've found, Eto…he had better be worth it," Kishou Arima muttered to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Well guys, after half a year since being published, we finally made it through Season 1 of the anime! Yay! I've got no idea where to go from here!**_

 _ **Seriously though. I have not read the manga, and Wikipedia only gives so much in terms of dialogue and character interaction. Should I cover Root A (which people hate for some reason), or should I find some online English Dub manga, or should I get really crazy, and screw canon in favor for an original story line?**_

 _ **Moving on from here,**_ _ **Xenomorphic**_ _ **will be updated next, followed by**_ _ **Backup Plan**_ _ **, and then the new story will be up to bat, so give me about two weeks before my sixth baby is out, but please don't rush me.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review please!**_


	18. AN

_**I know this is the last thing you would want to hear from any author, but…I'm sorry guys. Due to extenuating circumstances, I'm going to be off the net for a good long while. I don't when I'll get back online, if ever, but I'll let you all know when I'm back. Just keep checking your inboxes for me.**_

 _ **I want you all to know it's been a great ride these past two years, and I've had tons of fun!**_

 _ **God Bless all of you!**_

 _ **-DelayedInspiration**_


	19. Return

_**In regards to the previous Author's Note…**_

 _ **APRIL FOOLS, BITCHES!**_


	20. Fractured Ghoul

_Fractured Ghoul_

 _ **Well, not counting my April Fool's joke, it has been several months since I touched this fic. However, all of that time went into**_ **Transcendence** _ **, so you can still take a chill pill.**_

 _ **Anyway.**_

 _ **After months of consideration, I have decided on a path to take. I am not covering Root A, I am not covering the manga. I am going off the deep end with a completely original storyline! Hoorah! Hoozah! Hooray! Yippee!**_

 _ **Anyway.**_

 _ **Oh, last chapter we left off with Percy being emotionally and mentally shattered into about a billion pieces, which leaves room for something way out in left field. You ever seen the movie**_ _ **Split**_ _ **by M. Night Shyamalan?**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or Tokyo Ghoul

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The human mind is a complex and detailed machine that mankind has struggled for centuries to understand. Many have created theories, many have derived philosophies, and many have tried to make complete sense of the mind, and yet none of them have truly grasped the truth.

Those that study the minds of Ghouls have met with similar results.

So then, what did that mean for a creature such as Percy?

He was not human, at all, being created from the womb of a Ghoul and the loins of a god. How did one understand his mind, especially after it had just been shattered? Beyond even that, how did one help somebody with a broken mind? Therapy? Counseling? Isolation? Long talks of philosophy and the human spirit?

Percy didn't have a human spirit.

Back on topic though, just what did you do? Help them, leave them be? Then what happens? If the pieces are left alone, will they just float aimlessly about in the subconscious void, or will they eventually put themselves back together?

Perhaps, but if the analogy is putting the pieces back together, then what happens if the pieces are reconstructed...wrong? Put together with gaps and holes, missing pieces, pieces from other places, pieces that are mix-and-matched, pieces that fit wrong...what do you do when the pieces form completely new shapes?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Anteiku_

 _May, 2007_

 _After the Ghouls brought Percy back home_

The battle against the Kraken's kakuja had taken a severe toll on the Ghouls of the 20th ward. After returning to their coffee shop, none of them had the strength left to carry a conversation, especially one with the magnitude of the impending talks, so they all went to their respective rooms and crashed. Even Uta, Yomo, and Nishio all found a soft surface to put their head upon. The Romans were all either brain dead or numb as they returned to their quarters.

Unsurprisingly, Touka retained her death grip on her naked brother, and held him tighter than she ever had before on that night.

And on this night, the machinations of Kronos were revealed. None of the Romans were privy to this information, only the Ghouls. They saw Percy's confrontation with Luke, how the teens eyes glowed a sickly gold, and how Percy crushed Luke into a red paste. They heard an ethereal roar of outrage, before the scene shifted, now to Sally. Ill, she was, and now the cause was clear.

Golden eyes.

As she left for what would be her final battle, the Ghouls saw her eyes flash that sickly gold. As Sally fought against Jason, Amon, and Mado, they saw her eyes turn that sickly gold. The scene shifted to the time when Touka confronted Percy, they heard the words exchanged, they saw the fracturing of Percy's unstable psyche, a psyche that had never healed, and they saw what happened after Percy dove out the window.

Touka's eyes turned that sickly gold, and the voice that exited her mouth was not her own.

" _Revenge is mine."_

Given the Ghouls of Anteiku's prior knowledge on Percy's origins, Greek mythology, and the boy's own recounting of his quest, it was correctly concluded that the purveyor of the golden eyes and the voice was Kronos. The truth of Percy's downfall became clear. Still, none of that meant shit for the boy himself.

He hadn't even seen the dream; his mind was occupied with _other_ things.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chaotic.

Turbulent.

Raging.

Unstable.

All adjectives that failed to grasp the enormity of the devastation and events that took place within Percy's subconscious mind as it tried and failed to figure itself out again. In this unconscious space, Percy sat on his knees, doubled over, tightly hugging himself. Blood served as his clothing. He knelled a piece of eyes that was suspended in the air.

Tornadoes, hurricanes, and black holes raged supreme in this private void. The noise of these phenomena would be enough to make a deaf person hear, and make them wish for deafness again. The chilling wind bit endlessly at Percy's skin, and its howling was only matched by Percy's screaming.

The anguished child suddenly looked up. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

The Kraken stood away from Percy, dressed in his previous garb of a black hoodie, black capris, black shoes, and the black coral-like mask. From the mask's eyeholes, two green light shined. If the Kraken felt the stinging winds, he did not show it.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Percy raged at the silent specter. "YOUR PLAN! HER DEATH! YOUR FAULT!"

The Kraken remained silent and motionless, even as the child in front of him began sobbing hysterically, which caused the surrounding turmoil to increase in violence. Percy's emotions spiraled even further out of control. His hate, his guilt, his sorrow...all became fuel for this howling storm.

The wind bit harder, the cold got colder, and the pain only became more intense. Percy wanted a way out, needed an exit, an escape from this agony. He needed something, someone, anyone, _anything_ to get away from his personal torment.

Then a soft hand was on his shoulder. "Hey, bro."

Percy's head whipped around, sending red flying through the turbulent air. Standing behind was himself-no, not himself. But close to himself. Wait-that hair, those clothes-it couldn't be _her_ , could it?

"Per...si...a?"

The girl smiled. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

The Kraken watched silently as they disappeared from this chaotic void.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Anteiku_

 _Morning_

When Touka awoke, she did so groggily as any other day. However, she remembered last night her brother almost killed her, and she brought him home, and she made damn sure he was held tightly in her arms went she went to sleep.

Percy was not in her arms right now.

Touka heard motion from elsewhere in her room, or more specifically, by her dresser. Her eyes opened fully, any sleep in her system now gone, and she bolted upright. She saw Percy, or his back, doing something...wrong. His hair was not what it was supposed to be. It was arranged in the same style Touka arranged it in when she was teasing him with her crossdressing shtick. However, _hair_ was not the main issue here, so much as just _what_ Percy was doing.

He was putting on a pair of Touka's panties.

The boy apparently heard her, because he turned his head to where he could look over his shoulder. Touka began to steadily turn white.

"Mornin', sis! Percy's feeling a little under the weather right now, so I'm driving the body until he feels better. Name's Persia! Nice to meetcha!"

Touka was white as a sheet. "Oh, God…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the central meeting room of Anteiku, most were gathered. Enji, Kaya, Yomo, and Ryouko were managing the shop downstairs, to provide the Ghouls and such of the 20th ward a little normalcy in light of the 11th ward attack, and Uta had returned to his art studio. That meant that Touka, Nishio, Kaneki, Yoshimura, Jason, Vanessa, and Persia were in the room, with the other Romans in Anteiku back with the legion in the surrounding area, and Hinami was told to stay in her room until things got figured out.

As it was, Persia, wearing an old, light blue skirt and a spaghetti strapped tee of the same color, both of which were old clothes of Touka's, was sniffing the Romans (if there was at least one positive in this, it was that Persia was not wearing a bra). They did their best to not show how creeped out they were, and the other Ghouls were watching this behavior with rapt attention. Finally, the fracture-minded Ghoul returned to her(his?) seat.

"You two smell funny. What's your names again?"

"I'm Vanessa, daughter of Venus, and this is Jason, son of Jupiter."

"Jason? That's really unfortunate."

The blonde hazarded a question, "Why?"

"Because a bastard named Jason killed our mom."

The demigod paled, memories of the brutality of last night fresh in his mind. In any other circumstance, he would've been jealous against his will. So power, such strength, such ferocity...took on an entire army and came out unscathed. The fatal flaw of children of Zeus/Jupiter was ambition, typically ambition to be the strongest, and when their strength was challenged by one stronger than them, they got jealous. Jason was not feeling jealous.

He was fucking terrified.

Nishio raised a brow. " _Our_ mom?"

"Yeah. Mine, Percy's, and Kraken's mom, Sally."

"Yes," Yoshimura said quickly, "could you please provide some insight as to what you mean when you say the three of you."

"Oh, sure. Percy's the main one, duh, and Kraken was born from training with Uncle Yomo. That mentality that Uncle Yomo put into Percy, that cold, ruthless, drive, it made a new personality that was brought out when Percy put on the mask. I was born when Touka started making Percy crossdress, and I wasn't really a thing, not like Kraken, until last night.

"Percy blames himself for Mom's death, and then the whole thing with what Sis said and then what she apparently didn't say has got him all screwed up, especially since he went all berserk and gave himself up to Kraken and slaughtered all those people. Finding out his motivation for turning to the dark side was false really did a number on Percy's psyche, shattering it.

"It got so bad that I was fully created, and when Percy desperately wanted a way out from all the confusion and turmoil, he turned to me. So, yeah. Until Percy says otherwise, I'm here, and when he wants to come back, I'll go back into the subconscious."

"When do you think that's going to be?" Nishio asked.

Persia shrugged. "Not a clue. Moving on, why are you two here?"

Kaneki took this time to speak. "Percy-"

"Persia. I am my own person, thank you."

"Erm, right, uh—they from a place called New Rome, in California, and they were sent here by your father, Neptune, to take you there so that you can learn about discipline, self-control, respect, and comradery." He received a very flat look. "Their words not mine."

The Romans received a very flat look.

Jason shifted. "So, uh, you coming with us, or…?"

The Romans remained under the scrutiny of the Ghoul for a little bit longer, before she shrugged.

"Yeah. Removing Percy from here, good idea. Might help him get better faster, too." Persia looked at Yoshimura. "Hey, Ancient One, am I going by myself, or do I get to pick people to come with me?"

"I am not that old," muttered the False Owl, but he perked up quickly. "You can choose if you wish, but whether they want to go is up to them."

"Okay! I pick Touka and Kaneki!"

"What!? Why not me?"

"Cause you have a girlfriend, _duh_. Don't you need to be here for her, doing that boyfriend stuff?"

"Huh...didn't think about that."

Persia waved her hand. "Don't sweat it. Basic lifeforms have trouble forming the most basic thoughts."

Nishio's eye twitched as his temper flared. "You little bit-"

"Uh-uh. Sticks and stones my break my bones, but words may make me want to kick your ass."

"Oh, you think you can take me, you gender-confused twat?"

Persia was suddenly about an inch away from Nishio's face, and since she was standing on the table to get some height on the chestnut-haired teen, poor Jason was treated to the sight of cousin's panty-adorned butt. Vanessa put her hand over the little legionnaire's eyes.

"I can take you sideways while running, ass-monkey!"

"What did you just call me!?"

"That's enough you two," Yoshimura said calmly, a smile on his face. Persia and Nishio disengaged, but not before a little spark flew between their eyes. Yoshimura's smile never dropped. "Now then, since Persia has chosen Touka and Kaneki to accompany her to New Rome, I see no reason to delay. You three, pack your things, and thank you Vanessa and Jason for coming here."

"Yeah! Thanks, cuz!"

Persia seemed to be the embodiment of the hyperactive and always smiling Percy, only with a more feminine flair to it. Anyway, everyone left to go do as Yoshimura instructed, but as Vanessa made her way for the door, the One-Eyed Owl called to her.

"Yes."

"Please, stay a little longer. There is something I want to talk to you about."

"Uh, yes sir."

The two Romans shared a quick glance, but a reaffirming nod sent Jason reluctantly away.

"Hey, let's be really quiet so we can eavesdrop."

"No."

"Aw, Touka~!"

"Can it, little sister."

There was the sound of clothes being gripped, then the whooshing of air as a body was sharply tugged away.

Vanessa sat down in the chair opposite of Yoshimura.

"Yes, sir?"

The Ghoul's eyes opened fully.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Touka's room_

"Gonna need some of these...some of those...probably some of those too...not a real girl as in body so I won't need these...uh...think that's it...you okay, Touka?"

The Rabbit was staring at Persia with regret and sadness. In a burst of Ghoul speed, Touka was hugging her adopted sibling with all that she had.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," she whispered.

"Touka…"

"I'm sorry about Sally, I'm sorry about everything that happened to you, and I'm sorry I made you dress as a girl."

Persia put her arms around her sister, hugging her back. "Stop being dumb, sis. Making Percy dress up was a good thing, because it made me. If I wasn't here, Percy would still be comatose, and Tokyo probably wouldn't be here."

"Why?"

"Earthquakes and tsunamis triggered by demigod powers."

"Ah."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I have studied Roman history before, and if New Rome is anything like it was hundreds of years ago, then I need to inform you of some things."

Yoshimura's red and black eyes bored into Vanessa's ever-changing irises with absolute seriousness.

"Do not expect Percy to obey any orders issued by anyone. Centurion, praetor, senator, or otherwise. He is headstrong, rebellious, and has massive authority issues. If you force him to do something he doesn't want to do, it will not end well. I suspect that his alternate personality is much the same. That being said, Touka is very similar in personality, although she has the maturity to pick her battles. If you want Percy to do anything, having her favor would be the first step. Kaneki will be the easiest to get along with, trust me, but he will not roll over for you just because you ask him to."

"It sounds like my boyfriend and I are going to have our hands full."

"It would appear so, yes."

"What about food? I understand that a hamburger isn't going to be the best thing for a Ghoul."

"Not to worry, we have ample meat for the three of them to last a year, and keep ourselves fed as well."

Vanessa nodded. "Is that all, then?"

"It is."

"I'll be going then. Thank you, Mr. Yoshimura."

Vanessa almost made it to the door, before she was stopped.

"One more thing, Ms. Vanessa."

"Yes?"

The One-Eyed Owl's voice was grave. "Be very careful in how you handle Percy, and make sure the legion knows this as well. Percy is half god and half Ghoul. While we have managed to teach him the values of life and humanity, he is not human, and he will not hesitate to kill someone if he feels threatened or angered."

Vanessa nodded sharply, her silver-tongued augur coming to mind.

"I'll make sure everyone knows to behave, sir."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Later that day_

 _We're gonna say it's June 1_

The Romans were piled in their suspicious black suburbans, except for Jason and Vanessa, outside of Anteiku. They attracted many strange looks from passersby and patrons of the coffee shop, but none of the demigods really cared. They just wanted to get back to California.

Persia, Kaneki, and Touka all had their bags packed and slung over their shoulders, and were giving out goodbyes and such. Kaya, Enji, Ryouko, Hinami and Yomo took the MPD remarkably well, and just went with it. The customers had no idea what was going on, and they tried to ignore anything else.

After Persia was done with her goodbyes, and scampered off down the stairs to the curb, Yoshimura locked eyes with Touka and Kaneki. "Look after him."

The teens nodded. "Yes, sir," they said in tandem.

Kaneki and Touka exited the coffee shop and entered the lead suburban. The air was tense. Vanessa sat at the wheel, Jason in the passenger seat, with Eric, Frank, and Hazel in the next row of seats, and Persia in the back. Hazel was having an animated conversation, Frank looked like he was trying to swallow a lemon, and Eric kept glancing behind him at the Ghoul, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Touka and Kaneki piled into the seats next to Persia, throwing their bags into the back of the suburban.

"Oh yeah. Hazel, this is my big sister and brother, Touka and Kaneki. They're in love with each other, but won't admit it."

The Eye-Patch spluttered, while the Rabbit's brow twitched. Touka promptly whacked her sister across the back of the head. Hard. Too hard. Persia went very still, her chin-length hair hiding her face. The atmosphere went dangerous and the air thrummed with hostility. The Romans reached for their weapons, while the two Ghouls tensed their kakuhou.

Persia looked back up.

"What the hell am I wearing? Why the hell is does it feel like there's a slingshot riding up my ass? Where the hell am I at?"

"Uh...Persia?" hazarded Hazel.

Eyes with black sclera and branching green veins snapped to the daughter of Pluto, making her squeak. "The fuck is Persia? My name's Kraken."

Touka's fist met Kraken's head instantly, and the child went limp once more. The hostile air vanished, replaced with the one that followed Persia. She raised her head.

"Okay, _ow_. Let's _not_ do that again. Kraken's not exactly happy right now, and switching like that makes my head hurt." Everyone in the suburban stared at the child of Neptune. "What?"

Kaneki leaned into Vanessa's view. "Let's go, please."

The daughter of Venus nodded, and the suburban pulled away.

"To the harbor!" cheered Persia.

Jason looked to the back seat. "I think you mean the airport."

Hazel leaned into Jason's view. "I think you mean the harbor."

"Children, please. Shush. I am trying to drive."

"Yes, to the harbor."

"No. The airport."

"Do you even have tickets for a flight?"

"And you have tickets for a cruise?"

"Yep."

Vanessa cocked a brow. "How?"

"Daughter of Neptune. Always have tickets for a cruise."

"And where are those tickets at?"

Persia reached behind her and pulled out a massive wad of tickets.

Touka blinked. "Where did you get those?"

"Places. To the harbor!"

"Sorry, kiddo. I'm the one driving."

"And I'm the one that can run faster than this thing _and_ throw it into orbit."

"You are not that strong."

Persia's kakugan bled into existence. "Wanna bet?"

"Jason, we're going to the harbor."

The son of Jupiter deadpanned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Pacific Ocean_

Tokyo was still insanely strict when it came to travelers, monitoring all that came and left in order to keep the secret of the Ghouls under tight security, but all of the guards and officials had one common weakness: they were mortal. Mortals were highly susceptible to the Mist, and while so many Roman demigods would definitely raise eyebrows, it was still nothing several snaps of the fingers couldn't fix.

As it stood, the reports of this day would detail the massive exodus of foreign exchange students back to America.

The suburbans weren't a problem, since they were mere constructs created by the few children of Trivia.

So what we had here was about a hundred loyal half-bloods of New Rome, all with VIP access and suites, cruising along the Pacific on a five-star behemoth of steel and electrical wiring. Hazel was seasick for the first few minutes, before Persia found out and intervened.

Turns out that children of the Sea God can cure people of seasickness.

The more you know.

Currently, on the pool deck, we find Hazel and Persia becoming fast friends, and Frank awkwardly sitting off to the side, his chubby body practically glowing in the afternoon sun. The three were on the lounge chairs, sun bathing, and Touka and Kaneki were off to the side, tanning and reading a book, respectively. Although, the eyepatch decided to be 'cool,' and was wearing a pair of shades as he read his novel.

Persia thought the cover said _The Yack Boat's Ogg_ , but that didn't make any sense.

The rest of the Romans were elsewhere on the cruise, finding ways to entertain themselves, whether that be the game room or the bedroom, napping, eating, swimming, weight lifting, or pranking harmless mortals. There were even a few uptight individuals who decided to stand guard in full body armor next to the railing, so as to keep an eye on sea monsters.

Why that was a problem when Lord Neptune's own offspring was present was anyone's guess, seeing as how the child was in…his/its/hers/their father's domain.

Not every child of Rome was entirely comfortable or okay with the idea of Percy having MPD, much less with the idea of one of those personalities being a girl who dressed appropriately for the female gender. Most daughters of Venus found it adorable; most sons of Mars found it deplorable.

Jason walked on deck, and quickly found his cousins, and he approached them. He raised a brow.

"You're not wearing a bikini."

The conversation between Hazel and Persia ended, and the Ghoul leaned over the arm of the lounge chair, bending her spine. Gravity tugged at her hair, almost pulling it to where it revealed both her eyes.

"Why would I wear a bikini?"

Jason suddenly felt really dumb for a reason he couldn't explain. Nonetheless, he tried to explain himself.

"Uh, I just thought that, uh, since you're a girl and all, that you would, um—and you wear girls' clothes—that you would also, uh, wear a girl's, um…swim suit…"

Needless to say, Jason's face was burning.

Persia shared a look with Hazel, and the two broke out into a fit of giggles for a reason only a girl could understand. Jason looked to Frank for support, but the boy was drooling at the sight of a nearby snack bar selling ice cream. Frank couldn't even _eat_ ice cream.

He was lactose intolerant.

Persia leaned back over the chair's arm, a grin on her face.

"Your logic's not half bad, but a bikini's a lot different than a skirt. Just because I'm mentally a girl, does not mean that I'm physically a girl, and walking around with a dick bulge in my pants would attract all sorts of the wrong attention."

Jason was still flushed. "R-Right…silly me."

Hazel piped up. "You know, I feel as if something like that is going to be a major issue one of these days."

"What'll be an issue?"

"People being the opposite gender in their heads, and dressing to reflect that, but still being a guy and girl in body and the whole world's going to freak out over it." Persia, Frank, and Jason all stared at Hazel as if she was sporadically growing zits all over her face. "What?"

"Hazel," Jason said, "there is no way anything that crazy will ever happen."

Well, being brought back from the dead after resurrecting a giant and subsequently burying him was pretty crazy, but hey. What did Hazel know?

"So cuz, you come out here just to talk to me about my clothes, or did you have something else to talk about?"

 _Meanwhile, over with Touka and Kaneki…_

"Should we step in?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay then."

In a move as bold as man proclaiming himself as gay in a Southern Baptist Church, Kaneki scooted his lounge chair closer to Touka, and casually put his arm around the tanning Ghoul. She did not fight him off.

 _Meanwhile, back with the Big Three cousins and Frank…_

Persia noticed the interaction between her pseudo siblings, and her grin turned Cheshire-like. Jason opened his mouth— "Hold that thought!"—and promptly shut up when his split-personality cousin suddenly vanished in a flurry of movement too fast to see.

 _Meanwhile, with Touka and Kaneki_

The Rabbit continued to sub bathe and the Eye-Patch continued to read with shades on and arm around the girl. Both were blissfully unaware of the imp that was coming for them. Both were blissfully unaware of how close they were to the pool, and the high dive right next to the pool.

"CANNONBALL!"

Kaneki and Touka's eyes shot wide open at hearing their little sibling's exuberant shout so close to them, and they were both _way_ too late to dodge the ensuing tidal wave that came flying out the pool. Several hundred pounds of H2O came crashing down on top of the attempting-to-bud couple, which not only drenched them, but destroyed Kaneki's book, ruined Touka's hair, and caused their chairs to be swept away with them in them.

Of course, there were other affected by the hydrokinetically enhanced pool water, but none of them knew what to make of what just happened other than they all just got out the pool. Mist was a funny thing.

When Persia climbed out of the pool, Jason realized just how wrong it would've been for her to actually wear a bikini. Her body was obviously male, granted it was lithe, slim, toned, and built for acrobatics and agility but was still male, and something like a bra and a low-rise brief would've been ten kind of wrong. And yet, the creature before him could just as easily pull off being a girl in regular clothes.

Jason's head started to hurt as he tried to decipher this enigma, so he stopped trying to decipher this enigma, and just decided to sit back and watch as those other two Ghouls rose to their feet…with very unhappy looks on their faces.

Persia just giggled at the twin looks of ire she received from her brother and sister, and bolted away, shrieking with delight as a game of fox hunt ensued, with her as the fox and Touka and Kaneki as the hunters.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _June 2_

Night came and went, with Persia sleeping in the arms of Touka, Kaneki with his own room, and the Romans wherever they wanted to be. During her rest, Persia entered the subconscious domain. It was a whole helluva lot calmer than what it had been, but it was still far from stable. Percy wasn't ready to come back out yet, not without causing a catastrophic event, and Kraken was still bitter at the world, so that was a definite HELL NO.

So it was with a moderate amount of regret that Persia remained in control.

She didn't _want_ this. She was a _she_ , a personality, a mental apparition that was the physical manifestation of Percy's memories, past stimuli, mixed with ungodly amounts of emotional and physical trauma. She was the product of Touka's shenanigans and Percy's mental instability.

She was a placeholder until Percy got himself figured out, and she didn't have a problem with what she was, she just had a problem with what she had been unwittingly created for.

This was Percy's body—Percy's _life_ , for gods' sake. Persia was not meant to live it.

That was why she was leaning on the railing of one of the side halls, watching the waves of the afternoon sea go rolling past, brooding by herself. She was wearing the same outfit from yesterday, the blue skirt and spaghetti-strap tee, but the hue seemed darker, more depressed. Perhaps it was the shade provided the by the above deck…

A scent suddenly entered Persia's nose, and her eyes widened in surprise, shock, trepidation, and even a small amount of fear.

A pair of slender hands covered Persia's eyes, but not before a few locks of green hair entered her field of vision. A pair of familiar breasts were pushed against the young Ghoul's back, and a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Guess who?"

"E-Eto…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Huh. Well, that took a lot shorter than I expected, but, uh, yeah. This happened.**_

 _ **I distinctly recall saying that Persia wasn't meant to be taken seriously in previous chapters, as it was just a little bit of humor and a sibling-bonding thing that Touka enjoyed, but at the end of the last chapter, with Percy having a complete mental breakdown almost as bad as the one Shin'en had so long ago, I needed a way to put that damage into perspective.**_

 _ **Behold, Multiple Personality Disorder, aka Dissociative Identity Disorder, coming straight from the plot of**_ _ **Split**_ _ **…which I never actually saw, but heard it was a good movie, saw the Honest Trailer, and read the Wikipedia plot summary of.**_

 _ **I don't know why, but the idea of multiple personalities coexisting inside a single mind is highly intriguing to me. Maybe I have DID?**_

 _ **o.O**_

 _ **Anyway, on to a very important question: update one more time, or go straight to**_ **Xenomorphic** _ **?**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_

 _ **Fun Fact: Shin'en also has DID, only on a much worse scale.**_


	21. Capsize

_Capsize_

 _ **Well, due to almost unanimous demand, here's another chapter!**_

 _ **But seriously guys, this is it, then it's my other three. You cannot comprehend how much I want to get to Backup Plan, but I am pleasing you guys by updating the other stories.**_

 _ **Right, this chapter details how Eto got on the cruise, how she feels about Percy being stolen from her, how she feels about Persia and the DID (which no one had any qualms about; awesome), and what happens when an overprotective big sister meets the extremely controlling and possessive girlfriend of their little brother.**_

 _ **Cat fight!**_

 _ **Also, lime for Perceto**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eto was not happy, which was not good, because when Eto wasn't happy, she got hungry, and when she got hungry, whoever was next to her was seriously unfortunate.

The reasoning behind her unhappiness was that, just hours ago, she was watching as her cute little Sea Monster tore up the battlefield in his kakuja, then she got to watch him veritably curb stomp Anteiku, and, by extension, Eto's piss-poor excuse of a father. While touching that the old shit took all the blame for her messes, Eto still took great pleasure in watching Yoshimura get thrown around.

Then, just as it seemed Percy was going to devour his sister in the ultimate show of strength…well, Eto wasn't entirely sure what happened, but if she found out it was 'the power of friendship,' she was gonna kill a bitch. What followed after the Rabbit's words was equal parts amazing and unnatural.

An honest to God earthquake.

Then Anteiku took Eto's cute little toy.

Now, it wasn't that Eto truly saw Percy as a toy to be exploited and used, far from it, really, but Eto hadn't had a loving upbringing. She had been dumped in the 24th ward, left to Noroi (now Noro), and had been denied the basic human teaching in life about how to treat other people. In Eto's upbringing, people were either to be eaten or used, and after they were done being used, they were to be eaten…or just straight-up murdered.

This childhood and maturation caused Eto to not feel love, so much as that dominant superiority over another creature. That feeling gave her as much power as it did pleasure, and Percy was just so cute and little and so eager to please her, it was a challenge of the gods not to just take him and ravish him. Eto had many fantasies she wanted to eventually try out with her mate, but that was a topic of discussion for a much later date.

However, in all of that sea euphoria, in that ocean of hormones and chemicals and lust, Eto _truly felt more_ for Percy than just the primal urge to fuck—more than the primal sensation of power that came with dominance. To Eto, even though she may dominate him and tease him and grope him, Percy was her lover, and that came with a whole new set of emotions and feelings the One-Eyed Owl was trying to digest.

In her efforts, she had decided that, post Percy's kidnapping, and his hatred for Touka and Anteiku, he would come rushing back to her arms ASAP. Instead, the soldiers she had looking over the coffee shop informed Eto that her Percy appeared to be _willingly_ going elsewhere in a convoy of black suburbans from America, with a bunch of American-esque kids, with Touka Kirishima and Kaneki Ken in tow.

That _stung_ Eto. Was her Sea Monster abandoning her? Leaving her? Dumping her? Did she do something wrong? Was she too overbearing? Did touching his butthole that one time turn him off to her? Just what was it? As Eto pondered, she found a strange anger rising in her chest. So that little brat thought he could just up and leave her, huh? Think again.

When she got her hands back on Percy, she didn't care who was around; she was gonna fist his tight ass and make him submit back to her. (Perhaps this was why Eto had never truly found love: _way_ too possessive.)

…

Okay, bit of an exaggeration on the fisting, but the idea was still the same.

Eto followed the suburban convoy to the harbor, where she boarded the same vessel.

From there, she kept a low profile, silently observing her toy using hearing and smell, and waited for the opportune moment to approach her toy and find out what the Hell was going on. That moment presented itself when Percy found some alone time on the railing, content to watch the ocean pass by.

Eto approached, and suddenly she had one more question to ask her toy: What the _fuck_ was he wearing?

While surprised, the Owl would be lying if she said that making her toy crossdress and fuck him like that was not on her list of fantasies, but anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At Eto's presence, Persia's danger sense spiked for many reasons. In all the reveal stuff and the going to New Rome and the MPD, she had forgotten all about the green-haired author. Now that she was here, though, Persia couldn't help but find herself panicking a little.

What would Eto say about the personalities? The crossdressing? Percy being stuck inside himself? Persia's existence? What would Eto say about Persia's leaving of Tokyo without saying anything? Would Eto be mad? Hurt? Angry? Was she going to kill Touka, Kaneki, and the Romans on the assumption that they had kidnapped her and were forcing her to come with them against her will?

Persia allowed herself to be turned around by Eto, and her sense of 'cornered animal' magnified at the gleam and the leer in the green-ette's eyes. As much as Eto looked like a triumphant predator, so too did she look furiously ravenous, like she wanted to punish Persia in an extremely sexual manor. While accustomed to this look from the few times Percy and Eto had sex, this was the first time in which Eto looked like she wanted to cause serious harm to Persia.

On instinct, the female personality of Percy Jackson clenched her butt super tight.

"Cute outfit," Eto purred.

She leaned forward, pushing herself onto Persia, and pushing Persia to the railing, almost putting her in danger of falling over into the ocean below…ocean below. Not good. Persia quickly prayed to her father, expressly telling him _not_ to anything; she had this. It was just a horny/possibly angry Eto. A little sex, probably some biting, eating and clawing, and it would all be good.

Eto's hand shamelessly snaked up Persia's skirt, tightly gripping her ass. Eto purred again. "Mmmm, panties too," then her hand slid up Persia's shirt, and began to tease her nipples, "but no bra. Shame on you."

Persia's body reacted to this stimulus as much as anyone would expect, with her nipples hardening and her penis becoming erect against her underwear… _her penis becoming erect against her underwear_. Percy needed to get his ass in gear, because thoughts like that made Persia feel dirty.

Eto's grip on Persia's butt increased, her nails threatening to break skin. "What are you doing, Percy? I know you're not running away from me."

"N-No, I'm not I—ah!—I p-promise." Eto had just squeezed harder.

"Oh? Care to explain then why you're on a boat heading to America with a couple of Anteiku Ghouls? I thought you hated Anteiku."

"I-I did—ungh!—it's comp—ah!—it's complicated. Eto~," Persia whined against the nonstop stimulation of her chest and ass, "stop it~."

Eto's smile belonged more on a triumphant cat who caught the canary than a woman of 24. "Awww, what's the matter, little Kraken? Feeling all hot bothered? Need to cum?"

"E-Eto…" gasped the Ghoul.

"I'll take that as a yes, however, you can't cum until you answer my questions." Eto took her teasing a step further, going from just rubbing her toy's hard nubs, to pinching and pulling, and going from just groping her toy's plump little ass, to something more entirely. The One-Eyed Owl casually slipped her fingers through the leg hole of her toy's panties, and began to rub around her toy's tight asshole, causing Persia to gasp sharply.

"No, Eto, please! Not there—eek!"

For who's body she was operating, Persia let out a very uncharacteristic squeak at her butt suddenly having something inside it. While it was only the fingertip, it might as well have been an entire dildo for all the feelings it caused to explode within Persia's mind and body. She tried to protest this unsanctioned invasion of her ass, but Eto's mouth silenced her.

For the Owl's part, she was enjoying this extensively. Her own nipples were hard, and her underwear threatened to soak through into her pants, and her entire bodily system was flooded with pleasure-driven hormones, making her body feel warm, making her mind feel hot. Anal play was hardly new Eto, as she found anal stimulation to be the greatest form of dominance one could have over a man, and there was nothing like the feeling of power that came with making a man cum through prostate stimulation alone.

There was only one act above that one that caused Eto the greatest sensation of power, but that reveal was for a later time.

As it stood, Eto had gotten herself stuck in a pleasure induced haze. Gone was her previous anger at her lover's apparent abandonment, gone was her previous anger at Anteiku for stealing. All of it was replaced with fantasies and desires and heated thoughts of sex.

Dressed like Percy was, pulling off the look of a pretty girl, Eto found herself getting wetter and wetter at thoughts of demeaning and humiliating names and actions. Calling him a 'good girl,' using female pronouns, and above all, a single thought that almost caused Eto to cream herself right then and there, calling her toy 'princess.'

Eto moaned into her lover's mouth at that fantasy, at dominating her cute princess…her Princess Percy. Eto moaned even harder, and her stimulations increased tenfold, her demeanor going from calm teasing to vigorous ravishing. Her finger started to push deeper, her hand became quicker across Percy's chest, and she pressed her knee into his crotch, giving his dick some attention. Beyond that, as Eto's current fantasy of her cute princess spun into a wild, out-of-control wonderland, she began to draw her knee up and down, basically humping her princess.

Perhaps in the future, when the afterglow of this intense euphoria faded from her system, Eto would look back and turn as green as her hair in revulsion at her sexual fantasy. Then again, probably not.

Air was eventually needed, and Eto drew back _all_ of her ministration, bringing her finger out of Percy's cute ass, bringing her hand out from beneath his skirt, bringing her other hand out from under his tee-shirt, and bringing her tongue out of his mouth, a sultry smirk of dark dominance on her face. However, her mind was still focused on her princess fantasy.

Percy was flushed, panting, and his knees seemed to struggle to hold up his weight. All in all, Eto was proud at her work in reducing her Sea Monster into a barely functional puddle of adorable goo. The One-Eyed Owl promptly scooped her toy up bridal style.

"Let's take this somewhere out of the public eye. Where's your room?"

Persia was a bumbling mess of hormones at the moment. Eto's taste lingered in her mouth, her ass was tingling, her sensitive chest rubbed in an uncomfortably pleasurable way against her shirt, and the testosterone in her body that stemmed from her male physiology demanded stimulation.

All that the poor thing managed was an unintelligible mumble-moan and a lazy point in a direction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **[Lime]**

The two found Persia's private quarters, and Eto threw her toy on the bed, and was straddling him in the next instance, pinning his slender arms above his head, holding him down at the waist with her crotch.

"Eto, I-mph!"

The greenette drew back after a second. "You speak only when spoken to, got it?"

"Eto—wah!"

The Owl was having none of this backtalk, not when she was wet and driven for sex, so she quickly sat on the edge of the bed, hauling her to into her lap, and flipped Percy's skirt up. Eto then proceeded to pull her toy's panties into a tight wedgie, and mercilessly spank the exposed flesh. Each strike elicited an adorable (to Eto) squeak, and a jerk of movement.

When her toy's butt was a nice shade of red, the Owl asked, "Now where were we before my little princess got mouthy?"

"P-Princess?!" came the aghast response.

Eto slapped that ass super hard. "Yep. You look like a girl and act like my princess, so, you are my princess. My Princess Percy."

"Please don't call me that," Persia said quietly, her face red. She got smacked on the ass yet again for her trouble. She was also reminded of the uncomfortableness riding up between her cheeks, and the tightness around her balls.

"I'll call you what I want. Now," Persia cringed when Eto's finger was moving aside her panties and sliding back into her butt, "why are you with Anteiku?" During the trip to the cabin, Eto's haze had subsided slightly, so now she was back to sexual interrogation.

"I-It's complicated."

"Really? Do tell."

Eto changed positions yet again, this time with her leaning against the headboard, her toy in her lap, with the hand that wasn't occupied in his ass stroking the front of his panties. Percy's dick was long enough to where it rose higher than the waistband of the underwear, but quite past the hem of his skirt.

Persia groaned in pleasure at the stimulation of her front, and discomfort at the stimulation of her back. How did she explain this to Eto? 'Uh, yeah, so everything that caused Percy to meltdown into your arms was a lie, and when he learned about that he sorta kinda had something of a seizure, which resulted in him having Dissociative Identity Disorder. Hi, I'm Persia, and I'm going to a summer camp called New Rome to get away from the environment that shattered my mind.'

"Percy, if you don't answer me, I'm going to start hurting you."

"Eto, please, I…I don't want to do this—GAH~…"

"Ah! There's your prostate! Now start talking before I make this hurt."

Persia did her best in light of the fact she was getting a hand job and a prostate exam that felt _really good_.

"Percy came to you because—ung!—he was lied to. He found out the—ah!—truth, and he—nng!—had a breakdown. His mind splintered—uh!—and he got DID. It's Percy, Kraken, and me—ungh!—Persia."

Eto stopped. "Are you kidding me?"

"No…if you're done, can you please get your finger out of my butt?"

"I'm not done asking questions." Eto resumed in her pumping of her princess's ass and stroking of her dick. "What was the lie?"

"Urk! Uh, the lie—mmm—was that Touka hated Percy, and that she—nng!—disowned him, but that wasn't the—ug!—case. Touka had been possessed by my angry grandfather, Sa—ah!—my grandfather, Saturn, the Titan of—erg!—Time."

"Titan of Time, hm? Alright then, where are you going, princess?"

"To a place in California—uh!—called New R-R-Rome, so I can get Percy away from Tokyo and the—ah!—CCG."

Eto's stimulation reached its peak, and Persia's body arched impressively, brining herself off Eto's finger with a lewd moan. Her balls contracted, and Eto's grip assisted in the release of three hard spurts of cum straight into her skirt. Her orgasm finished, Persia collapsed into her lover's lap, panting and red faced. Eto slowly wrapped her arms around the child's waist, her own haze now gone from her mind.

 **[Lime End]**

"Titan of Time?" she asked.

"Yeah," Persia breathed, on the verge of sleep, her orgasm having taking a lot out of her, "I've got…a really big…really weird family…"

"Got enough energy to tell me about them?"

"…nope…"

Eto looked down at her toy, and she noticed how her eyes had already drifted shut, and her breathing was starting to even out. Eto kissed Persia's forehead. "Okay then. You get some sleep, Sea Princess."

"Don't call me that…" Persia crashed right then and there.

As Eto stared at the sleeping child in her arms, she felt a most horrible feeling blossom in her chest. The feeling was icky, sickening; it made Eto want to puke. The feeling grew and grew, grew to where it encompassed her body, and penetrated her every cell. The feeling brought with it foreign thoughts, thoughts that revolved around Percy…and what she had just done to him.

Eto realized that this putrid feeling that slimed its way through her was guilt.

She stared down at the creature in her arms. She stared at its hair, its clothes, its little body, its cute face, and the steady rise and fall of its chest. Eto did not know what love was. Her father abandoned her, her mother had died years ago, and Noroi no longer existed, his love for her evaporated upon the birth of Noro. That event opened a hole in her heart. She had then gone on to seek for her own twisted love, seeking for a man that she could make submit to her, seeking someone to fill that hole. She found that man many times, and every time she broke him and ate him.

Then, a few days ago, she found someone. Not quite a man, but just barely more than a boy. This boy loved her, accepted her, and let her have her way with him. This boy could hold his own in any fight, and could easily handle Eto's rougher tendencies. And what did Eto just to the boy that filled the hole in her heart?

Short version: she raped him.

Percy hadn't—no, _Persia_ hadn't consented to any those activities, she had never said 'Eto, finger my ass,' or 'Eto, give me a hand job,' or 'Eto, please make me cum.' But did Eto care? No. No, she had allowed herself to be consumed with betrayal and jealousy and anger at the thought of this child abandoning her. Instead of simply sitting down and talking this out to find the truth, she had just snuck up and violated her lover's rectum with her finger.

Wasn't that just the _best_ way to handle a situation? Anal fingering? Yeah, Eto was hating herself for that, if only for the sole purpose of that it was Persia she had just fingered for nothing more than information, and a twisted sense of roll-reminding in the relationship.

Speaking of Persia, this DID thing.

Eto didn't know _why_ Percy had gone running from Anteiku, not until he had told her about his plan for Jason, how it resulted in Sally's death, and how Touka had said what she had said, and she hadn't _cared_. She was just besides herself with ecstasy because she had successfully brought her father's golden child to her side of the war. What Percy felt in this matter was irrelevant…but not anymore.

DID, more commonly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Eto was no psychologist, but she knew what DID and MPD were very serious issues. The presence of completely whole personalities in one's mind, whole other _people_ , people with their own likes, dislikes, quirks, interests, and qualities. Eto often wondered if she herself had MPD, what with her current personality, and that of the Owl and Sen Takatsuki, but this wasn't about her.

Percy had been so damaged by his mother's death, so damaged that it was his fault, so damaged by what his beloved big sister had said to him, that, when it was revealed that what Touka had said was the result of divine possession, his mind had shattered and subsequently built a new persona altogether in an attempt to cope with the pain.

The persona of Persia Jackson, a result of Percy's experiences and memories in the realm of crossdressing, all done by Touka's hand.

Speaking of Touka, this divine possession thing…this Saturn, Titan of Time…Eto knew this story. The myths of Roman mythology, told to her by Noroi and various books, had fascinated her as a child, and were one of the very few things that had kept her somewhat grounded during her descent into the shadows. Persia had said that Saturn was her grandfather, and in her pleasure induced haze of euphoria, she wouldn't have had the presence of mind to lie, much less concoct a story as far-fetched as a place called 'New Rome,' so Eto had no question about what was said being the truth, she just to know…how.

A being such as Saturn being real would mean that the rest of the Roman legends would have to be real as well, possibly even other legends, like Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Aztec, Muslim, Christian, etc. Eto was an atheist at heart, firmly believing that man controlled man, not some deity from on high. But back to Persia, saying that Saturn was her grandfather, that would mean that her father, who was unknown by all, would have had to be Jupiter, Pluto, or Neptune…or Ceres, Vesta, or Juno.

Mythology was weird; Eto recalled a few stories where man-on-man brought forth life, so she wouldn't have been surprised if woman-on-woman brought life as well, _but_ …this was all hinging on _if_ Percy didn't have a father so much as two mothers…Eto entered a new line of thinking.

Percy had kept this mythology thing a secret, or he would have told her of it the second after their first time together, so it was clear any divine entity or what not was supposed to be a secret. Eto then recalled some other things she had seen while on this cruise: kids in full armor, kids practicing with swords, kids weightlifting more than the average adult, and kids that smelled exceedingly different from regular humans. Persia had said Saturn was her grandfather, which meant that her other parent had to be a god…did that mean that those other kids were god-children as well?

Made sense if they were going to a place called New Rome.

Eto thought of something else, and it made her worry. If mythology was supposed to be kept secret, and Persia had let slip said secret, would she/they be in trouble with the supposed gods? Or was she just fine right now because she hadn't said anything too revealing yet? Wait…how much stress would this put on Persia, having to explain to Eto about mythology, or keep it a secret from here on out?

Should Eto just leave then, and swim back to Tokyo? Should she leave this room, and hide away on the ship until they reached port, where she would just find another way back to Tokyo? Or would it just be better to wait until Persia woke up, and ask her about these things then?

…

Yeah, that was for the best. Besides, all this thinking had tired Eto out, and she wanted to sleep. She was already on a soft, warm bed, with an even softer, warmer plushy snuggled up to her. Yep, Eto got herself under the covers without waking her toy— _NO_. Not a toy, not anymore.

Eto got herself under the covers without waking her _girlfriend_. In this case of DID, when Percy was in control, it would be boyfriend; when it was Kraken, it would still be boyfriend; and when it was Persia, like it was now, it would be girlfriend. Simple as that.

The daughter of Yoshimura fell asleep feeling better with herself than she ever had in her memory.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _WHAT THE FUCK!?"_

Persia shot straight out of the bed and her lover's arms at the livid roar of Touka, sailing all the way to the opposite end of the cabin, which left Eto and Touka on the same side. Peeling her head out of the wall, Persia quickly whirled around, and paled.

It went without saying that Touka was furious, with her kakugan blazing, her kagune writhing in anger, and the look on her face, but trying to choke Eto to death probably wasn't the best thing to do.

" _WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!? WHY ARE IN HERE!? WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH MY LITTLE SISTER!? SPEAK!"_

"Garlgrleahiutrnsgdr."

Touka's eyes widened even further in primal fury than what they already were, and her kagune raised up for a strike. Panic filled Persia, not at the impending death blow to her lover, but more for the fact that her lover's face became icy…and her kakugan became active. Touka balked at the single red and black eye, and Eto promptly threw the Rabbit off her, slamming her into the wall with enough force to break through it to the other cabin, causing the people in there to scream and freak out.

Touka came shooting back in, barreling into Eto with enough force to tackle her through the king size bed and into the room on _that_ side of the cabin, causing more screaming and panicking.

The shock of the situation ended for Persia, and now she came to grips with reality. Touka had come back to hers and Persia's cabin (undoubtedly to turn in for the evening), and found her little sister snuggled up with Eto. Now, while warranted, Touka's reaction might have been more toned down if the scent of Persia's cum wasn't in the air (speaking of, the child needed to change her skirt). Without a doubt, Touka believed that Eto had taken sexual advantage Persia (which she did in all honesty), and was now justifiably enraged.

While not necessarily a misunderstanding, all Touka knew was that she had just walked in on a complete stranger spooning her little sister, with the smell of sex in the air. Persia needed to diffuse this now, before someone ended up dead.

Really, that concern only extended to Touka, Eto, Kaneki, Hazel, and Jason, with Vanessa and Frank being at the bottom of the list. Everyone else wasn't important.

Persia bolted into the adjacent room to find her sister wailing on Eto's face, and Eto was calmly taking each punch with barely a flinch. There wasn't even a blemish on her skin, because of the amount of RC cells in her body strengthening her body's durability and invulnerability. Persia tackled Touka off her lover.

They rolled, and Persia came out on top.

"Stop it, Touka! It's not what you think!"

"Oh, so it's not a person I don't know spooning my sister with cum-smell in the air!?"

"Well…"

"OFF!"

With that, Touka knocked Persia aside, and was tackling Eto to the ground once more, only this time with the result of Eto throwing Touka through the roof and onto the next floor. Then Eto was leaping into the hole in the ceiling. On the floor, Persia was stunned. Touka had just _hit_ her.

If that wasn't an indicator of blind fury, then the daughter of Poseidon didn't know what was. Bottom line, she needed to end this. The young girl quickly bolted up the hole, only to find the battle between the Rabbit and the Owl had devolved into a brutal catfight of clawing and hair pulling.

Sucking in a deep breath, Persia screamed at the very top of her lungs.

"SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND!"

Touka's assault came grinding to a halt, and Eto promptly threw her through the wall.

"Eto!"

"What? She started it."

BAM

Eto went flying through the other wall as Touka came dashing back into the current room. She gave Persia a very cold look.

"What the fuck do you mean 'girlfriend'?"

Eto came blasting in, but Persia had already been moving. The greenette came to a grinding halt, fist just inches away from Touka's face, her breasts nearly obscuring all of Persia's face, letting only the girl's displeased eyes be visible.

"Eto," came the muffled voice of Persia, "this is my sister, Touka Kirishima." She craned her up so that she could see some of Touka's face. "Sis, this is my girlfriend, Eto."

Red eyed glowed brighter. " _Since. When_."

Persia gulped, already sensing the amount of Hell this was going to bring. "Since I ran away and joined Aogiri Tree."

Touka saw red. If she wasn't as livid as she currently was, her head would have been cooler, her restraint stronger, and her presence of mind better. As it stood, she was so pissed off she couldn't see straight, and she did the unthinkable.

She put her hand on the side of Persia's head, and shoved her out of the way with such monstrous strength that the she cracked the wall…hitting head first.

Touka was in Eto's face. "You're the one that made him murder all those people!?"

From there, a vicious argument ensued, one of words and volume this time, but all the danger that presented paled in comparison to the fact the Percy had been prematurely brought out of his consciousness. He was still in mental turmoil, still an emotional wreck, still an unstable demigod whose powers directly correlated to his emotional state.

What we had here was a case of a shattered psyche trying to mend itself, violently thrown back into a severely hostile environment.

Percy heard not the words of his sister. He heard not the words of his girlfriend. All he heard was amalgamation of tortuous sound spewing hate. All between the two people he loved most in the world. Seeing that, his mind crumbled further, and he sought a defense mechanism. His brain found one in the way of making the noise cease altogether, and his body responded.

" _STOOOOOOOOOP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The entire ship came grinding to a dead halt in the water, throwing passengers about the decks like ragdolls, sending the glasses and plates of the restaurants shattering on the floor; the power of the vessel was shut off, the engines stopped working, the propellers stopped spinning; pipes busted left and right, the waves began to rise, tossing the dead ship to and fro.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy's distress-induced anger quickly burned out of his system, and the supernatural phenomena that could've plagued the ship and had already plagued the ship disappeared.

With a tear-stained face did Percy look at his sister and lover. "Please don't fight…I don't like it when you fight."

His fragile mental state could take no more, and the son of Poseidon fell unconscious, his body demanding rest so that it may heal itself.

Eto and Touka shared a forlorn look at the boy they both loved in their respective ways, and a silence fell over them. However, it was a silence quickly broken.

"His DID," Eto started, "I didn't make him do anything. Kraken chose to do whatever he did by himself."

Touka glared at Eto. "And that's supposed to make it right? Just blame it all on Kraken? Sorry, but that's bullshit. You were there, you could've stopped him, or at least created enough commotion to get Anteiku's attention so we could've stopped him sooner. Beyond that," here, Touka shoved Eto to the wall, and got right in her face, "you _fucked_ my little brother."

Eto glared right back. "Yeah, I did, and he consented and enjoyed it. Despite what you want to think, Percy, Persia, and Kraken aren't kids anymore. They can hunt, they can fight, and they can kill—they _have_ killed, and they will continue to kill. As long as Ghouls feed on humans and humans kill Ghouls, those three will always be killing. It's time to grow up Touka, and realized this world isn't all sunshine and rainbows…Ayato was able to realize that."

Touka's eyes widened. "What?"

"Ayato knows the truth about this cursed world, as does Percy and his other halves. They both want to give their all to change that, but there seems to be a recurring factor that keeps them from fully maturing…you. Ayato is still held back from his full potential because of his hatred of you, and likewise for Percy but where he used to hate you, now he loves you. Maybe it's time you start reevaluating your life choices, Touka Kirishima, before you get one of your brothers killed."

"W-What are you talking about?"

" _War_ , little girl, war. A great war is on the horizon, and I'm trying to make sure every Ghoul is ready for it, including Ayato and Percy. Right now, their feelings hold them back from their full power, and them not having every bit of strength they can get…could cost them their lives. Just think about that for a while."

Touka just throttled Eto.

"If I ever catch you sleeping with my brother or sister again, I don't care how powerful you are, I _will_ kill you."

Before anything else could be said, Praetor Vanessa came running onto the scene, somehow knowing where to look.

"By the gods," she breathed, "this is a _huge_ mess. I've got my legionaries working on cleanup and control, but still. What the Pluto happened?"

Touka gave Eto one last withering glare, before she stormed over to where Percy lay, scooped him up, and stormed past the greenette and the half-blood, who wisely stepped out of the irate Ghoul's path.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What the hell happened?" asked Kaneki when Touka nearly slammed his door off its hinges.

" _Nothing_ ," came the scathing response. "Just finding out that my little sister had a girlfriend and they just engaged in coitus."

Kaneki didn't know how to respond to that, so he went with the classic, "Oh."

For Touka, who was already wired and still livid, Kaneki's response was the perfect thing to jump…after setting Percy down on the bed, of course. The angry Rabbit rounded on the hapless Eye-Patch.

"Oh? _Oh_!? I just tell you that my 13 year old brother is fucking someone twice his fucking age, and all you can say to that is _oh_!?" Touka's eyes blazed red. "GET OUT, NOW!"

"But, Touka, I-"

" _NOOOOOW!"_

Kaneki wisely bolted out the door.

The Rabbit collapsed onto the bed, mentally and physically tired. That argument and Eto's strength had taken a heavy toll. Speaking of the argument, Touka had tried her very best to ignore what was said, but that part about Ayato (which answered where he'd been all this time), and Percy, a war, and how she was holding them back and how they could die…it got in her head.

 _Eto_ had gotten in her head, and the One-Eyed Owl's words tormented Touka. Was her presence in her brothers' lives going to get them killed? Was she holding them back? Did Ayato hate her so much that his grudge was going to kill him? Did Percy love her that much that his love was going to get him killed? Was Touka truly _that much_ of a detriment to her loved ones' lives?

Touka forced herself to sleep that night, holding Percy tighter than she ever had, trying to convince herself that her family would be just fine, and that she wasn't going to get them killed, but still…

 _Eto was in her head_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Well, a pipe busted at school, which caused some major flooding, and today they saw fit to keep us out the building for repairs, which is why this chapter is out before noon on a weekday.**_

 _ **In other news, my physics teacher has decided that our final exam is to write a story revolving around magnetism, in which we must have two magnets, an electro magnet, iron, aluminum, and use the concepts of magnetic attraction/repulsion, field lines, conductivity, inductivity, and charges. Final draft is due on May 19, which I find laughable.**_

 _ **Anyway, for the story.**_

 _ **If you found the interaction between Persia and Eto uncomfortable and/or weird/disturbing…good. That was the point. Eto is not a nice person, and her troubled upbringing is the cause behind her possessive/domineering/commanding disposition. However, I am trying to change that, if you couldn't tell by more than a thousand words of inner-character debate.**_

 _ **And how about Touka, ladies and gents? You're on a cruise, your little sibling is mentally damaged, and you find them sleeping with a stranger with the strong smell of sex in the air…would you be mad? Hell, I would. In tandem with Touka's extreme ire, we also saw Eto's world views, and just how manipulative she can be.**_

 _ **By getting Touka to question her role in the lives of Percy and Ayato.**_

 _ **Now, this is the last chapter for a while…again, but fret not. I shall begin work on**_ **Xenomorphic** _ **, then**_ **Son of Jashin** _ **, and finally**_ **Backup Plan** _ **, because it's really time to get that story going again.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	22. YLC Lexington

_YLC Lexington_

 _ **I'm back from my conference guys! Woke up at 3:30 on Sunday morning and got home at 10:21 Thursday night. Spent over seven hours on the bus. In the event that this fic is up for years and years to come, I want it to be known that the Conference lasted from June 11-15 of the year 2017.**_

 _ **I know that after a week of no updates, a long Author's Note is not what anyone wants, but this conference…I feel that it needs to be talked about.**_

 _ **During the conference, we got to listen to a POW who spent six years of his life in the 'Hanoi Hilton,' an economist with a PhD, a judge, another judge, this one having escaped communist Russia and is Jewish, a retired Marine Captain, several members of the Coast Guard, and a retired general from the United States Army.**_

 _ **Now, bear with me as I fail to get my thoughts in any semblance of an order.**_

 _ **The POW told us about how he was tortured for information, kept in a cell with no light or air circulation, and about how he and his fellow prisoners developed a communication system of tapping, but wasn't Morse code. Obviously, he made it out alive, and after his presentation, we got the opportunity to ask questions. I asked him two: what do you think is wrong with the government, and what do you think of President Trump.**_

 _ **The first one got a laugh because the XO of the conference, the second in command, said we only have a few minutes not a few hours, bit anyway. The POW didn't give a straight answer on the government question, but this is what he said about Trump:**_

"I like him. He's doing what he can to change this country for the better, and no one likes him because he's trying to change things. That's why the media does nothing but criticize him and paint him in a bad light. Even though this is a country of free speech and opinion, everyone seems to have forgotten about respect. You may not like Trump, but he's still our president. If Hillary had won, I wouldn't have liked her one fucking bit, but I still would have given her the respect the president deserves."

 _ **I interviewed him in private for that and took notes.**_

 _ **The economist was a great guy, I liked him. He had us do an activity regarding a reservation wage and entrepreneurs looking to hire people. The majority of the class was looking to be hired, with a few people doing the hiring. Now, the problem was that the entrepreneurs were only looking to hire for a certain amount, and those with reservation wages that were too high didn't get hired. I had a reservation wage of $12.50, and couldn't hired for shit, no matter what sob story I came up with.**_

 _ **Starving family, war veteran, sick parents, anything. These bastards just wouldn't hire me on for at least $13 bucks an hour.**_

 _ **This exercise was meant to teach us about negotiation and the power of profit. See, the more the entrepreneur had to pay us, the less money was in their own bank account after payday, so of course they would only hire the cheapest of labor. This was also an exercise used to reflect the real world.**_

 _ **I asked myself: are these entrepreneurs just greedy bastards then, looking to line their pockets, or were they simply men and women like the rest of us trying to do the best they could for their families and themselves in a world of cruel competition?**_

 _ **Moving on, I asked the economist a single question: do monopolies exist today.**_

 _ **He said yes.**_

 _ **Now, when one thinks monopoly, the game is the first thing to come up, but for those that know of the Gilded Age of America, you guys know that monopolies are like Standard Oil, Trusts, and the Northern Security Rail Company. Those kinds of monopolies are the kinds that drained competition, and made themselves the only ones to buy from.**_

 _ **It would be like Walmart if they put Target, Brookshire's, and Kroger out of business and left only themselves as America's grocery store.**_

 _ **The economist told us that monopolies exist today in that the monopolies are controlled by the government. He said that corporation would go and lobby the government to pass certain regulations. These regulations wouldn't destroy competition, but it would limit what other competition could do. In this instance, the corporation in question now has less competition to fight, and more opportunity to make money.**_

 _ **Since it's the government that passed these regulations, it's the government that controls the monopolies.**_

 _ **The first judge that came presided over a mock trial regarding the sinking of the Titanic and a suing, grieving wife. I think it was a real trial at one point, but I don't recall; the trial was handled in a way that left half the class asleep and bored.**_

 _ **While I forget the trial itself, I do not forget what I thought of this trial. The people that made the Titanic claimed it was unsinkable, yet it sank, many people fucking died, and they were sued for it. My cynical nature revealed to me what I found to be a dark truth: these companies know they fucked up, they know that they went wrong and cost people their lives, destroying families, and instead of owning up to this, they do everything they can to keep every single penny they have in their pockets.**_

 _ **I like to think of those people as greedy scum, but I suppose the counter argument to that would be that the companies need their money too, so they can pay their workers and provide for their own families. To quote Cutler Beckett:**_

"It's nothing personal, Jack. It's just good business."

 _ **The cruel world of corporation.**_

 _ **The second judge to come in didn't preside over any trials, but she gave us a bountiful wealth of information. She came from communist Russia when she was thirteen, travelling across Europe before finally making it to the USA. I forget what she said about her childhood, because it was what she had seen as a judge that caught my attention.**_

 _ **When she ran for her current position, of which I forget, she had a single opponent. She didn't give his name, but she said that this man used intimidation to keep other potential judges out of the game. This man intimidated her as well, saying that if she ran for judge, he would ensure she would practice law ever again. That convinced the second judge to run even harder, campaign stronger.**_

 _ **She won, of course, but the message I got from this was corruption. This man, this intimidating judge, used his reputation and reach to make sure he was always at the top. I wondered that if he did this, how many others did the same in our country?**_

 _ **The second story the judge told us was of her time as a juvenile court judge. She told us of her most 'interesting' case. There was a boy, thirteen, who was in court for curfew violation. The judge asked him why, and he said because it was rude to smoke around his momma. The judge felt a little relief in that, seeing a bit of light in the situation, and she told him that it wasn't good to smoke tobacco.**_

 _ **The kid freaked out and said:**_

"I wasn't smoking tobacco, I would never smoke that around my momma!"

 _ **We all got a little confused, but most of us quickly picked up what he was really smoking. The judge asked him this, and the kid said that he was smoking pot. As it turned out, his mother was a drug dealer…so yeah. The judge moved on from there and gave him his curfew time, and the kid asked if this applied to the weekends. The judge got confused and asked why that was relevant.**_

"My girlfriend's pregnant and I need to make sure she's okay."

 _ **Keep in mind that this kid is thirteen, smokes pot, his mother's a drug dealer, and said girlfriend is**_ _ **fourteen**_ _ **. Not a word was said anywhere in there about a father, and it went without saying that the everyone thought this kid was black.**_

 _ **I was able to pull aside a buddy I had made, and we talked about some stuff. I brought this up, and we both agreed that it was just fucked up in general, and it was fucked up how, just based on what was said about this kid, that everyone just knew he was black. It was a stereotype, my buddy said, an unfortunate one, but still. We talked about more things, and then we got to the System.**_

 _ **What is wrong with America to where a mother has to sell drugs to get by? What is wrong with America to where a thirteen year old smokes pot and is an expecting father? What is wrong with America to where seventy young men and women, upon hearing this story, all assumed the kid was black?**_

 _ **I told my buddy that when a System becomes so fucked up, so broken and corrupted like it is today, like a checker board in which neither party could see a move to make because of how muddled the board is, the only way to fix the System, to fix the board, is to wipe the board clean and start again.**_

 _ **Granted, we can't exactly just wipe out the American government and establish something new overnight, but still. Something needs to change.**_

 _ **Anyway, the judge said she kept up with the kid, and she told us that the birthing went off fine, he stayed in school, graduating high school with an education, stayed with his girlfriend, and now has a job to support all three of them. I'll think of that as the proof that not all hope for America is lost.**_

 _ **The Marine Captain that spoke to us was an older gentleman. Regrettably, I forget what he said, for at this point in the day, it being 4:30 in the afternoon and me waking up at 6:00 in the morning after hours of previous lessons and lectures, was irritated and fatigued. However, at the end of the conference, I spoke to him one on one and thanked him for his service after shaking his hand.**_

 _ **He looked me in the eye and said:**_

"I've been watching you. Out of everyone here, I think you're the only one that can make it in the Marines. If you ever think about joining, give me a call and I'll get everything in line."

 _ **I said thank you, sir, and I sat down at my table, pondering that. I personally have no intention of joining the military, much less the Marines (sorry to that one guy that reviewed thinking I was in the military; your salute is flattering, but sadly misplaced), but damn. This retired captain thought that I could do it, and offered his services to help make it happen…so yeah.**_

 _ **The Coast Guard members came in and talked about the stuff they did, their area of jurisdiction, the things they'd seen. I got to talking with one man, and he said that slavery today was higher than it was back when slavery was legal. Granted, the modern slave is a woman crammed into a shipping crate and not someone from Africa, but still.**_

 _ **I asked how he felt about that, and I saw his eyes dim. He said that in the beginning, it was horrible, terrible, disgusting, and it made him angry to know that it happened. But that was in the beginning, and he told me how it was in the present. He said it was nothing to him now, he said he was jaded to it.**_

 _ **He said it used to be like 'Oh my God! This is horrendous! This needs to stop now!' to 'Oh look, another human trafficking crate. Let's get this over with.'**_

 _ **I asked how he felt about Trump and America today, and he said that he stood with Trump, saying that the President was trying to push America back in the direction of God, trying to clean up the government. The Coast Guardsman said that, with the mess that Obama left to clean up, Trump was doing a good job. That's what he said, so please, for the love of God, do not start a political debate in the Reviews. Thank you.**_

 _ **Now, we get to the general, and this where things need a little more prior information.**_

 _ **When we got to the conference, we were all separated into different groups, and each group had their own jobs that needed to be attended to. My group was saddled with the responsibility of greeting and introducing all of the guest speakers and then saying a few words when their time was up. Well, after giving my groupmates their respective speakers, I ended up with introducing the general.**_

 _ **I got up to the podium and realized that my notes were not at all with me or within arm's reach. So there went Plan A. Plan B was to recite what I had from memory, and it would have gone great, if not for all the adrenaline suddenly coursing through me, which rendered me a stuttering mess. However, I persevered, and said aloud that I wasn't about to give up, because I'm an American.**_

 _ **I got applause for that one.**_

 _ **This is what I said:**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we welcome a true American hero. This man was drafted in the February of 67, and was deployed to Vietnam in the July of that same year. In the February of 69, he left the military and continued to serve our country from the National Guard. Duty would call again, and he would be directly commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, where he would go on to serve valiantly for over 30 years. It was in 2005 that he retired with the rank of Brigadier General. During his career, he was awarded with the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and numerous others. However, it is not only brawn that this man brings to our country, but brain as well. He is a graduate of the Army War College, and has an MBA from St. Edward's University. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and join me in the welcoming of our guest of honor, Brigadier General Jim Bisson!"

 _ **Only add more stuttering and broken speech.**_

 _ **What the general spoke about is lost to me, as I was far more preoccupied with how much I just bombed that introduction. However, I remember vividly that the general handed us all a lemon, or at least the people around us a lemon, and he told us to get to know that lemon before putting it in a box. Then a member of our group had to go find our lemon. It wasn't hard, there were several landmarks on the lemon, and the message was simple as it was cliché.**_

 _ **That was all the events of the conference, now on to the slightly more personal stuff.**_

 _ **I said that we were split into groups, and those groups were named after the planets. There was Mercury, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Neptune, and my group, Jupiter. Each group had about somewhere between nine and thirteen members in their group. At the end of the conference, we all exchanged numbers and we have a group chat going. It's an endeavor of ours to meet back up one day, although how that'll happen is beyond me. One of our members lives in fucking Oklahoma for God's sake.**_

 _ **Anyway.**_

 _ **This conference was a conference of leaders, meaning that all of us were privately interviewed during the school year, and were chosen to attend. On Wednesday, the groups had to pick amongst themselves who the group leaders were, and Jupiter Group chose me.**_

 _ **With six groups, there were six 'Leaders of Leaders,' as I liked to call ourselves. The XO, the general, and three of the councilors took the six of us to a private room elsewhere on the Lexington, and interviewed us all as a group. The question they asked and our answers are unimportant, because the point was that night, during the banquet, they did not pick me as Top Leader.**_

 _ **I got with the XO at a later time and asked what set the winner apart from the rest of us, and he said he wasn't at liberty to discuss the deliberation between himself and the others…most disappointing answer of all time, but anyway. I didn't let it bog me down, and I shook hands with the Top Leader, smiled, and wished him the best in life.**_

 _ **Wednesday night, they let us all stay up late, giving us till 12:30 to get in bed…not the best when you have to get up at 6:30 to pack your stuff. Anyway, with all this time given to us, we all got in little groups and toured the ship. And when I say 'toured the ship,' I mean we went past the little yellow chains that said Authorized Personnel Only.**_

 _ **Of course we didn't find government secrets or private meetings or anything out in left field such as that. All we really found was dust, dirt, darkness, and enough rust to give you Tetanus just by looking at it. In the first area we explored, we found an old ladder that led down into a void. Me, being the adventurous idiot I am, went down that ladder…and found nothing but emptiness, dirty water, and dead cockroaches.**_

 _ **Most places were like that actually, just old, untouched, and waiting to be attended to. Although, in one room, an old berthing area left to time, I opened a cabinet and found a set of keys. Nothing major, just two little padlock keys on a string. I took them for myself, my own little treasure from the bowels of the**_ **U.S.S. Lexington** _ **. I wonder if those keys were truly just forgotten trinkets, or if someone is desperately looking for them…oh well.**_

 _ **With two of my bunkmates, we explored the fine details of atheism and religion.**_

 _ **My first bunkmate said he was an atheist, but not the kind that profusely believed in science and hated God, the idea of God, and people that worshipped God. No, he was the kind of atheist that used to believe, but something happened in his life to where his faith died.**_

 _ **He told me that when he was younger, he watched as his parents argued and yelled with one another, before eventually splitting up in a hateful divorce. He told me that he lost his faith because he couldn't believe that God would just stand there and let that happen…he also told me that since he once believed in God, he also believed in Satan.**_

 _ **I told him that it wasn't God that let his parents fight and divorce, I told him it was the work of the Devil. He just shrugged, and we moved on with our evening, content with our beliefs.**_

 _ **My second bunkmate overheard our conversation, and he jumped in himself. He said that he wanted to believe, but he had doubts. The question he asked me was that if God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and that he knows what we are going to do no matter what, do we truly have free will?**_

 _ **I did my damned hardest to answer to him, but for his expectations and standards, I came up short. Our debate ended up attracting half of our side of the berthing area, and they all went into their attempts at convincing my bunkmate that we had free will, but I could tell that he wasn't convinced with anyone's argument.**_

 _ **What I have to say about that, for anyone here asking that same question, is that it all comes down to what you will believe, and what you won't believe. I believe that, even in the face of an omniscient and omnipresent being, we have free will to do as we want, when we want, and how we want to do it. Of course, there are limits to what we can do. I'm not about to fly to the moon, and you probably aren't going to jump fifty feet in the air.**_

 _ **Also, just because we have free will, does not mean it's okay to kill a man. That's why we have laws to govern free will, so that we don't live in a society of anarchy and violence…all evidence to the contrary.**_

 _ **Now, you're probably asking is there a point to all this beyond telling us all how my vacation went, and the answer is yes.**_

 _ **Each fold of the American flag has a meaning to it. For those that already know this, you can skip it. For those that don't, please keep reading.**_

 _ **The first fold is symbolic of life, the second is symbolic of the belief in eternal life. The third is honor the veterans retiring from the military, and the fourth represents the weaker nature of humanity, and that it is in God that look to for guidance in times of peace and war. The fifth fold is made in tribute to our country, and the sixth is for our heart, the heart which we place our hand over during the Pledge of Allegiance to this country. The seventh fold is done in honor of our armed forces, and the eighth is made in the name of our mothers. The ninth fold is performed for womanhood, in the name of their faith and love and loyalty, and that it was in these things that the men and women of this country were molded by. As the eighth fold is made in the name of our mothers, the tenth is made in the name of our fathers. The eleventh and twelfth folds of the flag are done in the name of religion, with the eleventh representing the Hebrew God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelfth representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.**_

 _ **When the flag is completely folded, the white stars of purity stand proudly against the blue hope of the night sky, representing our country's motto:**_

In God We Trust

 _ **I find that to be a source of irony, honestly. In a country that allows for freedom of religion, no matter what, be it Christianity, Judaism, Catholicism, Muslim, Wicca, Satanism, atheism, scientology, etc., that the motto of this country revolves around trusting a single being.**_

 _ **I ask myself what it means to be an American, and I debate that if this country trusts in God, then part of being an American is believing and trusting in God, and those that do not, whether they are atheist or otherwise not a believer in God, cannot truly call themselves Americans.**_

 _ **However, the counter to that is that there's more to being an American than religious faith, or lack thereof.**_

 _ **During the conference, they had us fold a piece of paper a certain way, and cut it. When we unfolded it, we had made a perfect five-point star…assuming you folded everything correctly. On this star, they had us write down what we thought it meant to be a patriot. This is what I wrote:**_

Patriotism is adhering to the principles of the American Creed, believing that that government is created by the people, for the people, of the people, and all of us are a united people, be they gay, atheist, Christian, Muslim, Catholic, or Jewish, under God.

 _ **I believe that part of being an American is recognizing that this nation was founded on the principles of the Bible, and that our Founding Fathers put their faith in God. Before anyone grabs their torches and pitchforks, I want you to know that I am not condemning atheists and other pagan religions. I am merely stating my beliefs.**_

 _ **When I say the American Creed, this is what I mean:**_

I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek opportunity to develop my whatever talents God gave me—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refused to barter incentive for a dole.

I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand, erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say—'This, with God's help, I have done.'

All this is what it means to be an American.

 _ **My favorite part of this is the very beginning, where it says that it is my right to be uncommon. I like to think that applies to every community of America, from religion to Furies, ABDL to LGBT, and beyond. If it's what you like, go ahead and do it.**_

 _ **One of our unalienable rights is the pursuit of happiness, so if it's reading a Bible, or Quran, or Torah that makes you happy, go for it. If it's dressing in a cartoon animal suit, more power to ya. If wearing a diaper brings just a bit more light to your life, wear a diaper. If being lesbian, gay, bi, or trans puts a smile on your face, then keep smiling.**_

 _ **Only, do everyone a favor, and pursue your happiness in private. There is no need to make people uncomfortable in public, no need to draw attention to yourself, and no need to end up on the news with a headline like**_ 'Gay couple murdered after kissing in public.' _**Although, if you feel the dire need to engage in exhibitionism, please, for the love of all that is sacred, have some tough skin.**_

 _ **No one wants to read on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or on the news about how insulted you got when you were dissed in public for wearing a Furry suit.**_

 _ **Now, far above these lines of texts that may or may not have been read, I told you there was a point to all this and then proceeded to launch into the Flag Folding Procedure. At the very end of the conference, just before we got our bags and loaded up the bus, we were given the Final Challenge, and that Challenge was to continue to lead off the ship, and lead in life.**_

 _ **On the way down to the bus, I felt a void inside me, this huge pit of emptiness. This pit was created by the ending of the conference. We just spent the past four days undergoing sleep deprivation followed by more learning and interaction than four weeks of school, learning about America, the government, patriotism, economics, and what the American flag truly meant…and now what are we supposed to do?**_

 _ **Start a blog about government corruption, lies, and secrets? Start a hometown organization about patriotism? Join the military and fight for the country? Become a politician, or lawyer? Just…what the fuck are we supposed to do, man? Sleeping in and blearily waking up in the morning just to spend the rest of the day on the couch or with a controller in hand definitely isn't the answer. So what is the answer?**_

 _ **My answer was over four thousand words.**_

 _ **I can see how many people look at my fics per update, and there's generally a few thousand people that read said update. I know that a few thousand is just a few drops in a country of several hundred million, but that's still a few thousand people that I've reached out to.**_

 _ **That's still a few thousand people who have read this, and have asked themselves their own questions, formed their own opinions, created their own ideals and beliefs. That's a few thousand people I've lead down a path that's made them think.**_

 _ **And that's good enough for me.**_

 _ **During the conference, I gave a few people my pen name so they could look me up. Whether they will or won't is in the hands of not me, but if they stop by, and they do read all of this and have gotten down to here, then I want to say to those people:**_

It was a blast, guys.

 _ **To close what it is probably the longest author's note ever written, this goes to everyone that has read this, no matter what walk of life they come from, no matter what they believe, no matter what they've done in life/plan to do in life, no matter about anything that makes them who they are:**_

Find for yourself what it means to be an American, and may God be with you always.


	23. Salacia's Visit

_Salacia's Visit_

 _ **Well, it's been several months, but here I am, back at it again with this story. Rejoice, my friends.**_

 _ **Now, for this chapter, before reading it, I suggest going back and reading the Author's Notes on chapters 58 and 59 of**_ **Backup Plan** _ **. If you don't want to do that, I'll give you a quick refresher. A Reviewer dropped the idea that Persia and Percy should be able to switch genders based on personality, through an ability like that of the clownfish. I put on an unofficial poll in the Reviews, and the Reviews boiled down to 'in favor of the clownfish.'**_

 _ **So, we'll be doing that this chapter, accompanied by one kinky round intimacy between Persia and Eto, because Amphitrite is a bitch like that.**_

 _ **Oh, and I'm pretty sure I just divided my fan base with Chapter 27 of**_ **Transcendence** _ **.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

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Persia flopped against the railing of the ship, feeling the wind pass through her hair, watching the waves pass by, sighing despondently at the events of the past days. The Romans were getting restless, finding it increasingly difficult to keep themselves entertained on a ship that had only so much to do. This was also the ocean, a place the Romans had a glaringly negative history with, and they were sharing a boat with a quartet of apex predators that could tear all of them apart with next to no trouble at all.

So they were suffering from a combination of fear, and ADHD-related boredom.

Kaneki was starting to act weird too. It started the night Touka caught her and Eto sleeping together, and after that terrible argument, and Touka had kicked Kaneki out, the half-Ghoul had been forced to find lodging elsewhere, and took the carpeted floor right outside the suite, without a blanket or so much as a pillow, and it wasn't exactly warm in the halls.

He had woken up screaming in the middle of the night, and all attempts at getting him to talk about what had happened during his nightmare, and all subsequent nightmares thereafter, had been met with a dismissive wall and an easy, false smile. Still, that didn't stop Persia from following her brother, and find him muttering to himself in a fear-filled voice, muttering about his fingers and his toes, about centipedes. It scared Persia to see him like that, especially with the streaks of white steadily starting to show up in his hair.

Touka was still at Eto's throat over her and Persia's relationship, although there was something...off...about the young Ghoul's big sister. Touka stared at the ground more, she was more subdued, distracted. There was a glaze to her eyes, and an apprehensive to her steps, and Persia saw it all. She might've been a personality formed due to extreme stress, but she still had all of Percy's combat, observational, and hunting memories. She could read people, and she was reading Touka like a book—which was to say, with difficulty. Touka was good at hiding her emotions and true feelings, which was why Persia knew the things she did, but not the cause, and all attempts at digging were met with dismissal, and almost cruel rebuttal.

"Nothing's wrong, so quit asking before I hurt you."

"Will you shut up about it, already? I'm perfectly fine."

"Stop annoying me before I punch you through the gut."

But other than that, Touka was cordial as ever. When Persia asked Kaneki, Hazel, and Vanessa about this, as Kaneki was smart as crap, and Hazel and Vanessa were girls, Kaneki said it has something to do with her 'cycle,' Hazel blushed and stuttered something along the lines of 'she'll get better,' and Vanessa told her that Touka was simply on her period, and the demigoddess looked surprised at that, for some reason.

Persia remained just as confused at the end of her inquirial quest as she did when she started.

The bottom line was that both Touka and Kaneki were bothered by something, and neither wanted to talk about it; it made Persia feel hurt on the inside.

And Eto…? Well, things were different now. Much different.

To Touka's consternation, Persia had sought Eto out immediately come the sunrise of the day after the fight. There were things that needed to be talked about. It was easy to track the One-Eyed Owl down, considering her scent was the strongest on this ship, a fact that was doubled when Persia could still easily smell herself all over the greenette.

Eto was standing at the prow, admiring the sunrise. She turned around when she smelled her girlfriend approaching. "Morning, Princess."

Persia stopped about three feet away, and put her hands on her hips, something that caused Eto to snort in amusement.

"One, don't call me that. Ever. Two, don't _ever_ put your fingers in my butt again."

"Not even if you like it?" Eto asked innocently.

" _Eto_ ," Persia warned with a hard voice, her kakugan flashing for all of instant, "Fingers. Out. Of my _butt_."

"Okay, okay...but what if you want me to put my fingers up your butt?"

Persia nodded once. "Then you can do it, but _only_ if I want you to."

Eto could've continued playing with her words, but she had made the decision last night to be more formal, more respectful of her princess. And the first step to doing that was apologizing. The One-Eyed Owl opened her arms. "Come here."

Persia accepted the hug, though the look on her face told Eto she was skeptical of there being a lack of sexual intent. The greenette simply held her girlfriend, and eventually, Persia's guard let up, and she melted into the hug. After a while, Eto pulled back, arms still wrapped around Persia.

"I'm sorry. What I did to you last night—"

"It felt good," Persia interrupted. "It felt good, cumming like that, but the circumstances around it...I _want_ to love you, Eto, and I _want_ to be with you, forever, but I'm not a toy to be played with, or a hole to be used because you're horny."

"I know, and that's why I'm apologizing. What I did last night was inappropriate, and a violation of you, both literally and figuratively. Persia, for all intents and purposes, I _raped_ you last night, and there's nothing I can do to make up for that."

"You can say you're sorry."

Eto blinked at how simple Persia made it sound. "I'm...sorry." She made it sound like a question.

"Say it with feeling."

Eto blinked again, felt a little hot under her collar at the pointed look she was getting by someone a head shorter than her, then she straightened, and steeled herself. "Persia, I am sorry I put my fingers inside you without your consent."

The young Ghoul nodded. "Good. All's forgiven."

"...what?"

"It's okay, we're good now."

"...huh?"

"It wasn't a _bad_ experience, no different than me putting my fingers inside _you_ and touching your spot. It's just that you did it without asking or even saying you were going to do something; you just did it. But you're sorry, so it's good."

Eto just stared at her princess, bewildered beyond words.

"Just roll with it before my dad turns you into a guppy."

"...what?"

Persia threw her arms to her side. "My dad's Neptune, god of the sea. We're in the middle of the _Pacific_ , so he knows everything that's been happening on the ship."

Eto paled as the ramifications of fingerbanging the sea god's daughter on the sea (ocean, technically, but still) hit her like a strike from Arima using a baseball bat. "Oh."

"But it's okay, I told him not to do anything to you, or I would be mad at him."

Eto couldn't help the snort that escaped her. The image of an all-powerful Roman god cowering on the receiving end of his pintsized daughter's ire was amusing to the half-Ghoul.

"But don't push it, he can still get really angry and do something stupid."

"Okay."

"Now hold me and let's watch the sunrise together."

And that's how Persia and Eto more or less recreated that one scene from Titanic, and entered a new stage of their relationship. Granted, even with this newfound respect, Eto still had a penchant for touching, it being her chief way of showing her affection, but Persia still found it embarrassing to have her girlfriend's hand on her butt almost all the time they were together.

This was also the root cause of Persia's second reason for her despondency. The reason being that Eto's advances really ticked Touka off, and caused strain on the relationship between her and her little sister.

Now, the main cause for Persia's sour mood, was simple: her panties were uncomfortable.

She was merely a personality, a massive piece of collected memories and experiences, birthed from the emotional stress of the revelation that the death of her mother and what Touka had said that night had all been lies, an episode orchestrated in its entirety by Saturn; Persia was female only in mind. She wore girl's clothing, acted like a girl, did traditionally girly things, and wanted to do girly things; she wanted to get her hair done, her nails painted, learn how to apply makeup, talk about relationships, watch cheesy movies with Eto, etc.

However, despite all that, despite all the overwhelmingly female state of mind that Persia enjoyed, she was still, and would forever be, a boy. The penis between her legs caused her underwear to stretch out, and ride into her butt, she couldn't wear shorts or jeans or pants, only skirts, because anything else would show her bulge, which would attract massive amounts of negative attention, and with Touka and Eto on board, anyone who said _anything_ negative would be slaughtered on sight, which would only lead to heaping helping of more problems than necessary.

The Romans were smart enough to only speak in hushed whispers in secluded areas about what they truly thought of Persia, normal humans, however…?

Hopes were not high.

All of this was stemming from the fact that Percy was, in a sense, taking too long. Granted, he was pulling himself together by force of his own will, without outside help, after having a mental breakdown of such magnitude that it splintered his psyche into three distinct pieces, so there was room for leeway, but still. This was _Percy_ ' _s_ body, _his_ anatomy, _his_ life. Persia recognized herself as a temporary placeholder, one to keep things going while Percy healed, and after Percy was done, she saw herself going back into his head, and spending the rest of her technical life in a kind of stasis. However, with all the time she had spent outside, the moments she had shared with Eto, the rebuttals of Kaneki and Touka, Persia was thinking that...she didn't want to sit on the sidelines for the rest of Percy's life.

She wanted her own identity, her own body, something other than her clothing choice and mannerisms that defined herself as _not_ Percy Jackson.

In essence, she wanted her own identity.

In summary, Persia despondently leaned against the rail of the ship, watching the waves pass by as the wind danced through her hair, because Kaneki and Touka were blowing her off, Touka and Eto couldn't find a middle ground, and she was having her own personal identity crisis.

"I've only seen a face like that on my daughter's, when she was having boy troubles."

Persia successfully fought down her instinctual reaction to lash out with her kagune, though this endeavor took place in the form of her flinching and whipping to face the surprise speaker, the green and black cloud of RC cells amidst her lower back bubbling back into her body. She blinked rapidly so her kakugan, if anyone saw it, would only be mistaken as a trick of the light.

"I'm sorry. I should've announced my presence before I spoke. I guess I can count myself lucky I did not get impaled just now."

The woman was very beautiful, with sun-kissed skin, mocha-colored eyes, black hair pinned down by pearls, and a simple white dress that curiously wasn't billowing about in the passing winds. She wore a circlet upon her brow, one made of red crab claws, _polished_ ones. Then there was her scent; it was like the sea, like Neptune's, like Persia's own, but different. Powerful and sea-like, but different all the same.

Persia hazarded a guess. "Lady S-Salacia?"

"Correct."

This was the wife of Neptune. This was Persia's stepmother.

"You can relax. I am not here to harm you, child."

"Then why are you here…?" Persia slowly asked, careful not to sound disrespectful, considering this was her dad's actual wife, and they were on the high seas, Salacia's territory. Granted, it was Neptune's as well, and odds were that he wasn't going to allow Salacia to smite his own half-blood child, but Persia wasn't taking chances.

Rule 59 with Uncle Yomo: never take chances unless you're sure of the outcome.

"I was curious about the child my husband had sired," Salacia answered. Then she looked at Persia with a raised brow, "Though I thought the child was a male."

"Well, technically speaking…"

"Ah, I see. You are gay."

"Technically speaking…" Persia wasn't entirely sure herself how the relationship between her and Eto was defined.

"It's okay. I do not mind. Did you know your father has had male lovers before?"

"Um, no." And she didn't particularly want to. The thought of her dad getting it on with another guy made her feel weird on the inside.

"He has. I admit, those betrayals did sting the worse. My husband, choosing another man over me, his wife?" Salacia shook her head. "Fortunately, there hasn't been an instance like that in over a thousand years."

"Uh-huh."

"I noticed the look on your face when I arrived. Boy trouble?"

"Family trouble," Persia sighed. "My brother's being a secretive dick, my sister doesn't like my girlfriend, and my girlfriend is intentionally provoking my sister because she likes messing with people, and my girlfriend is really...clingy. She likes touching my butt every chance she gets, and doesn't like it when she's not using me as a plushy."

"She sounds possessive."

"She had a rough childhood, and doesn't have a clue as to how to behave as a normal person."

"I've been told you've had something of a childhood yourself. Ghoul?"

"Yeah," Persia said shortly. "What does being a Ghoul have to do with Percy's childhood? I thought Percy had a great life."

Salacia raised a brow. " _Percy_ had a great life? What does that mean?"

Persia looked at her stepmother. "You don't know...about what happened to him...do you…?"

"Evidently not. Please, inform me."

The Ghoul spent the next few minutes giving the goddess the abridged version of Jason, Saturn, Sally, the runaway stint, being found by Eto, Aogiri Tree, the 11th ward mall battle, and the bomb Touka dropped regarding her not saying those evil words. All the while, Salacia listened with rapt attention, paying attention to every word, absorbing every detail.

"You are Percy's sister, then. Persia."

"...never thought of it like that before, but yeah. I'm his sister."

And I'm sharing his girlfriend. Figure that one out.

"I see."

"Yeah…"

The conversation died, because Persia could not think of anything else to say. Actually, she didn't want to say anything else; she wanted to go back to her room or Eto's, curl up in the arms of either Touka or Eto, and not cry, per se, but have an emotional moment nonetheless. Having to recount all the events that lead to her birth(?) left Persia feeling emotionally...unsettled.

She wanted a hug.

Salacia stared out over the Pacific, her eyes narrowed. "You feel displaced," she observed, "put out by the fact that you're merely a personality, and not your own complete person. You desire a body to call yours."

Persia looked at her stepmother from the corner of her eye as she leaned on her arms leaning on the railing. "So what if I do?"

"I can help you with that."

The Ghoul straightened, now alert. Deities didn't simply 'help' with anything, let alone deities who were 'helping' the illegitimate children of their spouses, the living personification of infidelity. "And what do you want in return."

"Nothing. You assume me to have hostile intent on account of you being my husband's daughter born from the uterus of another woman. Your defensiveness is not unwarranted, and I blame Hera for that, but I make it a point to not be like Hera, and look at the bright side of things."

"The bright side?"

"Yes. I now have a new stepchild."

Persia blinked. "Huh?"

"It is not your fault you were born, and so I do not blame you. Your father is who I have issue with, though I've already dealt with him."

"How?"

"Never you mind, child, never you mind. Now, I can help give you your own body, if you are willing to let me help."

…

"What do you have in mind?"

"The clownfish."

"What does Nemo have to do with anything?"

Salacia chuckled. "Think on it for a moment, and it'll come to you."

Persia frowned, but she did as she was told, and thought of the clownfish. She thought, and thought, and thought...and then a wellspring of information flooded her mind. The number of species, where they lived, what they ate, what they looked like, what their scientific names were, what their mating habits were like, what their predators were, and all manner of strange and otherwise useless trivia, but there was one thing that shone out to Persia.

"Clownfish change gender."

Salacia nodded. "Indeed they do. If you're wondering about how you suddenly found out about so much of the clownfish just by thinking about it, it's because you are a child of the sea. All of the creatures therein are subject to you, and all that is known about them is yours to access at will...as are their abilities."

Persia looked at her stepmother.

"Yes, if you concentrate hard enough, and you have the power necessary, you can mimic anything any ocean creature can do. The bite power of a shark, its electrosensitivity, the ink of the octopus, the camouflage of the octopus, the venom of the pufferfish...the gender-changing ability of the clownfish."

"You mean I can—?"

"Indeed child. Here, allow me to help…"

Salacia calmly reached out, and then gently placed her hand on her stepdaughter's head. A pulse of divine power, a gasp of air, a rush of energy, and the changing of anatomy. Persia stumbled, and quickly leaned on the railing as her the black spots in her vision blinked out. Her underwear was no longer uncomfortable.

Still trying to regain her bearings after...that...she brought her hand to between her legs, and blinked slowly. "Eto has this…"

Salacia snorted. "Every female has that. It's called a vagina."

The weird word knocked Persia back into reality. Her face scrunched up. "That sounds gross~."

Salacia snorted again. "Yes, I suppose it does." _Just wait for another few weeks. You will learn all about gross._

Something struck Persia. "Wait, when Percy gets better and wants control again, he'll be a girl, and he won't like that!"

"Not to worry. Like when controlling the water around you, simply think of the clownfish, and will yourself into a male again. That way, you have your own identity, as will Percy."

There was that word. _Identity_.

Identity, personality, existence, her own body, her own _person_. Persia had what she wanted, it had been given to her, and in a way that Percy could use for himself as well, and she couldn't have been happier. While Salacia wasn't her mother, that didn't stop Persia from tightly wrapping her arms around the goddess.

"Thank you."

Salacia smiled. "Don't thank me yet. The fun has only just begun."

The Ghoul pulled back. "Huh?"

The Queen of the Sea promptly pressed her fingers directly into her stepdaughter's genitals. It had not the effect of Persia recoiling in violation, but moaning lewdly in a way far more fitting for a whore, than a girl of thirteen. She stood there, knees shaking, as new feelings went off like bombs inside her, a pleasurable, molten heat flooding out from between her legs. Salacia raised a brow in an impressed manor.

 _Wet already. Damn._

"I suggest you seek out Eto. She might be able to help you with your...situation."

Persia just nodded weakly, her face flushed and her eyes glazed. With shaky, rapid steps, she stumbled away in a primal search for her...well, in this instance, _mate_ was probably the best word.

Salacia watched her step daughter go with a dark look on her face, a deadly gleam in her eye.

The Sea Queen did not consider herself to be a vain goddess, at least, not on the level that Hera was, but she was not above getting her pound of flesh when her husband engaged in the practice of infidelity. In this case, while she did warm up to her stepchildren and come to love them, giving them a gift of a sorts, she did give something of a curse inside her blessing; here, she gifted her stepdaughter with the ability to tap into the powers of the sea's creatures, but she also gave her the curse of extreme arousal. Enough pressure to her vaginal area would immediately trigger an extreme biological response, rendering her a sex-craving mess that needed release as soon as possible.

If Neptune couldn't keep it _in_ his pants, then his daughter wouldn't be able to keep it _out_ of her pants.

But Salacia was not cruel. She did not make it so that Persia, when in this state of heightened arousal, would simply seek out the nearest penis, but would instead seek out her current significant other. So points for loyalty. Although it was somewhat kinky that Persia's significant other was a woman. Oh well, let the kids have fun.

Granted, Salacia could see for herself how making her illegitimate stepchild a nymphomaniac wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it satisfied the goddess' ire, and when a god's anger was satiated, especially by something not so severe, then it was a good day for everyone involved.

Speaking of nymphomaniacs, and sex in general, Salacia liked to ponder as to why gods had a history of infidelity, especially the powerful ones, like the Big Three. The Sea Queen liked to think it was the fault of the wife for not being there to relieve her husband's sexual tension, which kind of explained Hades, because Persephone was gone half the year, and that definitely explained Zeus, because Hera hadn't opened her legs in centuries, but that theory ran into rocky ground when it came to Salacia, because she made it a point to be there for her husband, ready to ease his burdens however she might be able to.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe Neptune just had so much going on that one outlet wasn't enough, or maybe it was the Fates looking to make something happen, or keep the world flowing smoothly. Or maybe it was simply in a god's nature to sleep with multiple women.

Salacia didn't know, she doubted anyone would ever truly know, but she did know that she had engaged her step daughter, brought a curse upon her that would act as Neptune's punishment, and do it all in a way that her step daughter approving of her.

By the way, Salacia knew all about Aogiri Tree, Sally's death, and the splitting of the personalities. She just wanted to hear it from the mouth of the child herself.

The Queen of the Sea vanished in a sea breeze.

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 _ **So, a lot of talking this chapter, yeah, but it sets up for the next chapter, in which the big question is asked:**_

 _ **Do y'all want to read about Persia and Eto having sex?**_

 _ **If the answer is no, then there'll be some talking, some glossing over of events, and the inevitable arrival at New Rome, and the start of that arc. If the answer is yes, then buckle up for probably the kinkiest, weirdest, strangest, most vore-ridden round of coitous ever put to literature.**_

 _ **This is Eto we're talking about, and Ghouls. Vanilla sex is not something they'll be having.**_

 _ **Moving on, how about Salacia, Persia's stepmother and Neptune's wife? And what's with all the Roman names being thrown about like it's always been like that? And what's going on with Kaneki, having dreams of hockey masks and centipedes?**_

 _ **Test your theories out in the Reviews, after you've Fav'd and Followed!**_


	24. The Owl and the Princess

_The Owl and the Princess_

 _ **The fans have spoken, and the verdict is in favor of lemons. I personally don't like lemons; they're sour, make my tongue feel weird, and make my spine do that shrivel thing, but lemon**_ **flavored** _ **things, like suckers, then sign me up. I don't get it myself, though I suppose it is similar to the principle behind liking sour cream and onion chips, while also hating sour cream and onions.**_

 _ **However, in all seriousness, Eto and Persia will be getting it on, and Eto, being the kinky femdom/dominatrix she is, will be doing some things, such as using her kagune as a phallus, making Persia say some humiliating things, biting, chewing, and eating, because Ghouls having sex is not at all going to be like humans having sex.**_

 _ **So, MA for kinks, femdom, girl on girl, and vore. Read at your own risk, and don't come bitchin' to me if something happens that you don't like.**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

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Eto was in the cabin, doing some rudimentary kagune exercises, like stretching it and forming it into whatever shapes she desired, like a set of arms, a mace, a hammer, a set of arms holding a mace, a hammer, and even arms holding arms. There were other shapes Eto made, making sure she was on top of her skills, but those shapes can be created by your imaginations.

Eto was in the middle of creating some spined tendrils, when a wave of pheromones slammed into her like a Maglev. The One-Eyed Owl's kagune vanished as she stumbled, her concentration broken by the overwhelming scent of lust in the air. The effect the pheromones had on her made her own body react accordingly, with an increased heart rate, the release of hormones and her own pheromones, the breaking of a sweat, and the dilation of her pupils.

She was immediately aware of the dampening of her own underwear.

However, while this dose was the strongest Eto had ever encountered, she was far more experienced with her urges and sexual desires than most anyone on the planet, and therefore was able to focus herself and not get lost in the world of lust. She sniffed the air, getting a better taste for whatever was approaching, and she registered made her tilt her head to the side.

It smelled like her princess, only...like an actual _princess_ , as in a _girl_.

Eto wasn't entirely sure what to make of this.

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 _Hot_.

There was a burning desire in her body, coursing through her veins, stemming directly from between her legs. It was a burning that demanded attention and release, and while she wanted so desperately to conform to this burning desire, to give into it and give it all her attention, she restrained herself...and instead blitzed through the halls in search of her girlfriend so she could do it for her.

As far as being a real girl went, Persia could say she was enjoying the experience, _but by gods was she on fire_. She didn't know what Salacia had done to her, or even it was something malicious, or maybe it was just a part of being a girl, but she did know that this burning between her legs felt absolutely divine, and she knew that Eto could make it feel ten times better.

And so she was running to her cabin, kakugan blazing as she was almost fully submersed in a primal state of being. She didn't care if anyone saw her, because she was moving too fast for the human eye to track. She wasn't worried about anything right now; not Romans, not gods, not her father, not Kaneki, not Touka, _nothing_. Nothing except for getting to Eto so she could take care of this burning in her—what had Salacia called it? Oh, right—her vagina.

Persia came to a screeching halt in front of Eto's door, and didn't even get to knock because said door was thrown open, revealing a half-Ghoul with a blazing red kakugan.

"Why are you so horny all of a sudden? And why are you a girl, with a pussy?"

"Um, my stepmom decided to come visit me, and what's a pussy?"

"Oh, you innocent little cinnamon muffin."

Eto grabbed the sea princess, and yanked her inside.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The humans couldn't smell it, obviously, nor could the demigods, but the other two Ghouls, Kaneki and Touka, they could smell it just fine, Persia's arousal. Her _female_ arousal. While confused as to how that was possible, Kaneki was hiding his erection that stemmed from basic biological responses, and Touka had way too much anger coursing through her to be aroused in the slightest.

She was actually being restrained by Kaneki.

"LET ME GO, YOU FUCKING HALF BREED! THAT GREEN-HAIRED BITCH IS FUCKING MY SISTER! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL 'EM BOTH!"

Kaneki was having the struggle of his life. "Touka, be reasonable right now. They are in a relationship and are entitled to sleep with each other."

"BULL! SHIT! WHEN I GET OVER THERE I'M CUTTING OUT THEIR OVARIES!"

"They're just going to grow back."

"THEN I'LL RIP 'EM OUT AGAIN!"

"They can both murder your ass."

Touka was so infuriated that she didn't even register that Kaneki had cursed in a slang-like way. "I'D LIKE TO SEE THEM FUCKING TRY! I'LL PT THEM SO HARD THEIR ASSHOLES WILL BE SUCKING BUTTERMILK!"

"And now you're quoting _Full Metal Jacket._ "

"SHUT THE FUCK UP PRIVATE PYLE!"

"I really don't want to do this, but…"

Kaneki's kakugan sprang to life, and he slammed his fist into the back of Touka's skull. She went out, but _damn_ did his hand hurt. Girl had a hard skull. With Touka knocked, another problem presented itself: Kaneki still had a raging boner due to the sex chemicals still heavily lingering in the air.

So he went into the bathroom and took care of business. When he was done, he caught a look at himself in the mirror. His hair was almost completely white. Then he felt a wriggling in his ear, and he yelped, his hand slapping over the little amalgamation of cartilage. The phantom sensation instantly disappeared, but even so…

Kaneki climbed back to his feet, and he looked at himself in the mirror once more.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in Eto's room, the One-Eyed Owl wanted to touch, ravage, bite, and fuck relentlessly, but she had self-control, and wanted to know what was up with her princess, and her sudden dosage of horny. She had _never_ been like this, _Percy_ had never been like this, it just wasn't how they rolled, they were too innocent for this level of horniness, and yet here the princess was, soaked clean through her panties, red in the face, and reeking of lust.

It was a seriousness battle of willpower not to pin the adorable little morsel to the bed, rip off her clothes, and have her way with it. Alas, Eto refrained, but she did haul the princess up on her hip like she was a small child, supporting her weight by placing both her arms under that cute little ass.

"So, how are you a girl?"

"My s-step m-mom...she did...she showed me how to copy...how to copy abilities from sea creatures...the clownfish...can change its gender," Persia finished her halfway explanation with a soft little moan, her speech broken by aroused pants. Her crotch was pressed into Eto's side. It was torture for the girl.

"So you can switch between male and female on a dime now?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And that makes you horny?"

"What d-does that even m-mean?"

"It means you want to have sex, really, really badly, like right now."

"C-Can w-we?"

"You're not normally like this. Why are you so sex-crazed right now?"

"S-Salacia touched me in my...in my…"

"Vagina?" Eto supplied.

"Y-Yeah, that," Persia said, face heavily flushed. "That w-word sounds _weird~_."

"Yes it does. So your stepmother, Salacia, wife of Neptune, your dad, came to give you a visit, taught you how to make like a clownfish, and everything else in the water, and then she touched your privates, and you became mega horny?"

"I t-think?"

"Oh."

Now Eto felt something akin to conflict within her. One on hand, her girlfriend was horny and down to smash without regard or reprimand, desperately ready to spread her legs and get impaled, but on the other hand, it was more or less against her will. Eto wasn't an idiot, and she knew damn well that goddesses were rather jealous of their husbands having illegitimate children, and made points to get some revenge, so Salacia's little visit was hardly for a cordial conversation, and was more likely to dole out some kind of punishment, and said punishment looked like it was had something to do with heavy sexual arousal.

The last time Persia was aroused against her will was when Eto put her fingers up the girl's asshole and stimulated her prostate until she came into the waistline of her skirt, and after that, Eto made it a point to _not_ take advantage of her girlfriend like that, and this whole situation felt like taking advantage of.

But, once again, at the same time, down to smash. Pheromones. Eto was aroused too, she could feel the dampness in her own panties, and there was a warm spot growing on her shirt from where she was holding Persia to her waist.

" _Eto_ ~, please?"

The One-Eyed Owl made the mistake of looking into those big, green-surrounded-by-black eyes, and was instantly hooked by the power of the Kicked Puppy. That, and the pheromones in the air were really strong.

"Oh, what the hell?"

Eto threw Persia onto the bed, and jumped on top.

In truth, the Owl had no idea what she was doing. Well, no, not entirely, but the concept was the same behind a new idea for a novel, in that there was a vague plot idea, some characters that weren't fully fleshed out, something of a setting, and maybe an inkling of a conclusion. So, Eto had an idea of what she was doing right now, but she didn't have the whole concept nailed down.

And that was simply because Persia was a girl.

Of course Eto had had sex before, multiple times, but all with _men_. Eto knew penises, prostates, butts, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, pegging. She knew the ins and outs of having sex with a man smaller than her, dominating him; she had _never_ slept with a woman, and she had only ever masturbated three times in her memory. The first because she was curious, the second because she heard about the G-spot and wanted to find it, and the third was because she did find hers, wanted to stimulate it again, and from there her sexcapade with the meeker men of Aogiri Tree began, and she no longer had need of self-pleasure, when she had someone to play with.

Right now, in this uncharted territory, Eto didn't know what she was doing, but she figured it wouldn't be much different than a man, or with Percy, and so she did the thing she always did when having sex: gave into her primal side.

 **[Here we go]**

Eto pinned Persia's arms above her head with a single hand, her other going down to tear away the girl's skirt while her mouth dominated. Her tongue rolled around, furiously probing each corner, fighting and easily defeating the smaller Ghoul's tongue. Air became a need, and Eto pulled back, panting. Persia laid there, also panting.

"More…"

Eto grinned, her red eye gleaming. "As the princess commands."

She promptly tore Persia's shirt and bra off with a single pull, making her squeak as the cool air of the room met her skin. Eto eyed the revealed breasts...and the pert nipples. "Mm, not bad, not bad at all."

Eto also saw how drenched the princess's panties were. Her fluids were even leaking out the sides of the soaked fabric, practically marinating the skin for when Eto was ready for the part.

She pinned Persia down, her hands on the girl's new B-cup chest, her thumbs not so gently rolling over the sensitive flesh. The princess moaned lewdly and wriggled about as she was introduced to new pleasures and feelings, all the while a knee was pressed tightly into her crotch. Eto was deeply amused with how the adorable creature beneath her was lightly bucking her hips into her knee.

The Owl focused her efforts upon the tender nipples of Persia, causing her to arch her back with a low keening sound as pleasurable fire danced across her nerve endings. Eto grinned sinisterly as a new wave of pheromones wafted into her nostrils, filling her head with a new line of thinking.

"We're going to play a _game_."

"A-A-A—unh!—g-game?"

"It's called Eto Says. I'm going to tell you to do something, and if you don't do it…"

The older Ghoul surged down and sank her powerful teeth into the delicious skin of the princess. Now, considering that Persia's RC cells were active and enhancing her skin, and Eto's jaws were able to break through that diamond-like epidermis like it was regular flesh, was credence to just how strong Eto's bite power was.

Flavor exploded in the Owl's mouth as enriched blood flooded across her tongue. She pulled back, tearing off a healthy chunk of meat. She chewed the food in her mouth with a look of pure bliss on her face, savoring every bite. She had done this with Percy before, eating parts of him, just as he had done to her, so they knew perfectly well just how delicious the other was. It was a Ghoul thing, performing cannibalism during intercourse. Typically, Ghouls tasted disgusting to each other at any given instance, but there was something different about their scents, something different about the taste of their bodies when their hormones were at such a heightened state. It made them enticing to their partners, and that was why Ghouls usually woke up with a few faint scars on their bodies in the shape of teeth.

To credit her pain tolerance, Persia barely made a sound above a moan and being bitten, and to credit her regeneration, Eto's snack didn't even reach her stomach before Persia's shoulder had perfectly mended itself.

Eto licked her lips. "So _good~_. I almost wish you're about to disobey me. Now," that lone red eye glowed brighter, "say: I'm a little girl."

In her pleasure-stricken state, Persia didn't even question it. "I'm a little—ah!—girl."

"Say: I'm a pretty little girl."

"I-I'm a p-pretty little—nn!—girl."

"Say: I'm a sexy little girl."

"I'm a sexy little—AHH!"

Eto enveloped Persia's entire right breast in her mouth, furiously rolling her tongue over the nipple, sucking mightily on the tender globule of sensitive flesh. The daughter of Neptune's back arched like a rainbow, and a pressurized jet of nectar came shooting from her vagina, soaking the bed and her underwear in the products of her first female orgasm.

One might have thought that the amount of ejaculate Persia just produced would have stunned Eto, considering half the bed was drenched, and was Eto's lower body. Honestly, it looked like Persia had saved a week's worth of white-colored pee, and then let it out all at once. But no, Eto was stunned, or even shocked; in fact, she was more turned on than ever. The overwhelming scent of Persia's orgasm was like a shotgun blast straight into Eto's olfactory receptors, and she went _wild_.

Persia was panting from her first orgasm, black spots dancing in her vision due to vasoconstriction, but there was still that insatiable burning between her legs, and she still wanted _more_. A lot more. And Eto was more than happy to provide.

The One-Eyed Owl literally ripped her clothes off, leaving her in her naked state, and she leered over Persia, clad in just her panties and her socks and shoes. Those hadn't been removed yet.

"Naughty girl," Eto purred, "I didn't say you could cum. You'll have to be punished."

Persia shivered.

Eto's kagune bubbled out from between her shoulderblades, but it didn't morph into the plumage-like shape that gave her name. Instead, it refined itself into two thin strands that crisscrossed over her spine, wrapped around her ribs, crossed under her breasts, and snaked their way down to between her ass cheeks, where they did something...different.

Eto had long ago figured out how to manipulate her kagune and her kakuja to whatever shape she desired, and she had been through a particularly seedy part of town one day many years ago, and happened across a rather inappropriate store that sold items primarily used by women to dominate men. So Eto, being the dominating force that she is, practiced in making one of the items she saw, and she succeeded. She even improved the design, making it to where her movements could be felt inside herself, and her orgasm could be shot straight out the tip.

In summary, Eto could manipulate her kagune into a double-sided strap-on, with a tube inside to send her orgasm shooting out like a man's. Persia stared at her lover's creation with wide eyes. "Is that...going... _inside_ me?"

"Yep. Prepare your asshole."

"Wha—?!"

Eto yanked Persia up and dragged her into the bathroom, and pinned the girl's hands to the counter, positioning herself behind for prime entrance. "I want you to watch as I take you from behind," Eto growled.

In the mirror's reflection, the size difference between the two Ghouls was highly apparent.

Now, Eto had something of a lapse. In the heat of the moment, she sort of forgot what she was doing and who she was doing it to, and did the same thing she had done with several other people. She should have put it where it belonged when having sex with a girl, but instead put it where it truly didn't belong, on account of her thinking she was screwing a man.

Using the leaking juices from Persia's snatch as lube, Eto, without preamble, rammed her kagune right past the girl's dripping panties and straight into her ass with one amazing display of strength, considering that Persia's rectum hadn't been relaxed in over a month on account of her recent meal not even close to being fully digested yet, and her muscles were superhuman. Then again, Eto also had superhuman strength, and she had the benefit of lube.

Still, Persia screamed when she was taken so brutally.

With a drunken, sinister grin, Eto slammed in and out of her chosen hole, her thighs meeting the back of Persia's legs with a thunderous, obscene clapping. Back and forth, in and out, rapidly did Eto thrust into her girlfriend's behind. God, was she enjoying this; the warmth, the tightness, the comfortable fit, all of it was nothing but bliss to Eto, and each push and pull of her hips affected the end of her kagune inside her pussy, mightily stimulating her.

On a completely unrelated note, the cruise ship suddenly found itself in rough waters, with many people praying to their gods, and throwing up.

Throwing her head back with a moan of pleasure, but not one of orgasmic pleasure, not yet at least, Eto surged back down and took a massive bite out of the opposite shoulder from earlier, chewed, swallowed, and went down for the ear. Both locations had fully healed before Eto was done swallowing. Continuing her abuses, doing anal, and eating, the One-Eyed Owl was oblivious to something, something very important, missing it due to the hazes in the air and coursing through her body, until a new scent permeated the bathroom.

The scent of saltwater.

Yes, they were in the middle of the ocean, smelling saltwater was hardly something to be surprised with, but it smelled close. Very close. Easily within three feet of her extensive olfactory range. Eto glanced at the bathroom mirror, and she saw immediately where the saltwater scent came from: Persia's eyes.

She was crying.

Crying from pain.

Eto's ministrations came to a gradual stop as the gravity of the situation came to settle on her shoulders. As she stopped, she became aware of a different feeling about her legs, one she knew very well. Blood was running down there, and there was only place it could have come from. In the newfound silence in the bathroom, Persia's quiet sniffles became like gunfire.

Eto sobered up immediately.

Ghouls had extraordinarily high tolerances for pain. The lowest level of Ghoul could shrug through wounds that send a human into shock. The highest level of Ghouls wouldn't even flinch at having entire limbs removed from their bodies, or their internal organs being damaged. So, for Persia to be crying, it meant that Eto was inflicting serious amounts of pain.

The Owl slowly pulled out, and dispelled the length of her kagune. She closed her eyes and slowly opened them. Something was different about them now, a light of seriousness to them, maturity, perhaps. Gently, she brought Persia into her arms, and felt deep regret in that the child was trembling like a beaten puppy.

Carefully, Eto set the princess down on the bed, and then gently got on top once more. She tore away the panties, soaked and heavy, but now stained with more than sweat and cum. She regrew the length of her kagune, and positioned herself appropriately this time.

"This is how it's supposed to be," Eto said softly.

And then, for the first time in her life, she entered another female. It felt so much different than a colon, so much _better_ , so much more _right_. As she went deeper, Persia's tear-stricken face became one of serenity and contentment as she was filled. Soon, Eto found that sacred barrier, and Persia felt it as well.

"What's that…?"

"Your cherry," Eto said. "We can stop here if you want, or I can push through, but if I do that, you'll never be the same."

"How?"

"You won't be a girl anymore...you'll be a woman."

"Oh." Then Persia grinned. "I guess I'll go from your princess to your queen."

Eto was quick to leer and lean in close, placing her hands on either side of the demigoddess' head. "Don't push it, little girl."

Persia's grin didn't fade. "Do it."

And so Eto made her princess into her queen. It didn't hurt, especially not so when compared to other things Percy had gone through, and certainly not when compared to a few minutes ago, but there was something of a slight pinch that warranted a minute grimace. Eto held her position, and after a moment, "Ready to continue?"

"Yep."

The Owl went to work, gliding in and out with a steady rhythm, one that only barely became faster. This wasn't about speed, or technique, or trying to bring the other to climax faster. This was about the moment, a turning point in their relationship, rebuilding after an event that almost shattered the relationship. Soon enough, on nothing but pure reflex and instinct, Persia's legs came to wrap around Eto's waist, her arms around her lover's neck.

Eto kept her hands firmly planted to the bed to keep her balance, and she kept working her hips at the steady pace she had set. Her forehead did come down, resting on the forehead of the _woman_ beneath her, and soon their lips were touching. There was no furious battle of tongues, no mighty struggle for dominance, only a kiss.

This was right, that they both knew. This was how it was supposed to be. It wasn't supposed to be some great smacking of flesh, not a display of animalistic dominance, but a union, a sacred one between two lovers. As it was done right, the rewards that ensued…

Eto's thrusting broke as euphoria overtook her, her inner walls contracting, her kagune doing what she had designed it to, filling Persia's womb with cum. She wouldn't get pregnant, of course, as Eto was still a female, therefore without sperm, but Persia's homeschooling hadn't progressed that far, not that she even cared about the warmth flowing deep within her, as she herself had reached orgasm with Eto. The demigoddess' back arched and she moaned into the kiss she still shared with her lover, and as she felt the warm nectar pump into her, so too did she feel some of her own seep out.

Eto felt it as well, and it was the best she had ever felt.

 **[Not over yet]**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the afterglow of their sex, Eto had moved them to the couch, as the bed was drenched in their sweat and their cum. The Owl sat normally, while the princess sat in her lap as a small child would when about to be breastfed. While not far from that reality, the reality was that they were still naked, and Eto had busied herself with scooping her climax from Persia's dripping entrance, and putting those fingers to the child's lips to suck on.

The girl found Eto's nectar to be positively delicious, and the further stimulation to her still sensitive area was not unwelcome. Of course, Eto still found time to tease.

"Say 'ah.'"

"Ahhh."

Eto stuck her fingers into Persia's open mouth. "Close...suck...swallow...open." In that order did the girl obey.

Eto went down and got some more, brought her fingers up to repeat the process, but this time added a twist. "Bite." Persia bit down, crunching right through the phalanges. "Chew." She ground the fingers in her mouth, splintering the bones and mushing the skin and muscle; Eto's blood went well with her taste. "Swallow." With a gulp, Persia did just that.

Together, they watched as the elder Ghoul's fingers steadily regenerated.

 **[Kay, now we're done]**

"Eto," Persia said suddenly. There was a scared, trepid look in her eyes. "Do you...y-y-you do...you love me, right? I'm not just a toy for some sex, right?"

The questions slapped the daughter of Yoshimura in the face like a pair of Quinque that Arima just swung. Had she truly been _that bad_ of a lover to where her girlfriend had to ask something like that? Nevertheless, Eto adjusted the creature in her lap to where they were face to face, and she stared the child directly in the eye.

"Persia Jackson. I've been a terrible girlfriend to you. I've used you, abused you, and treated you like a toy to get off on. And no, don't say I haven't, because I have. Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked that question, and for that," Eto's voice broke, "I'm so much more sorry than I've ever been for anything in my life."

"Eto…"

" _Yes_ , by the gods, _yes_. I love you more than anything else in the world, and the only way I know how to show that is by...is by…"

Persia kissed her. "It's okay. I love you too, and I forgive you."

Eto blinked, a stray tear falling away from her eye. "Just like that?"

"Well, I'm just a little hungry, like, just a snack will do."

Then Persia took a rather healthy chunk right out of Eto's boobies.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Well, that took a lot longer than I expected, but I didn't think writing a lemon in the middle of school was a smart idea, and I got**_ **AC: Origins** _ **, so all of my home life has been spent juggling between work, assassinations, and writing smut.**_

 _ **Speaking of, how was it? I'm entirely fond of lemons myself, as I don't come to fanfiction stories to get my fix, so I think the quality of what I write in regards to sex is rather...unfitting. Though, I did try to make it as magical as I could and as bestial as I could, but someone could undoubtedly have made it more brutal and more magical, but anyway.**_

 _ **Character development was my main point here, along with some comedy coming from Touka and Kaneki. More on them in future chapters.**_

 _ **Speaking of future chapters, one more of this, or move on to**_ **SoJ?**

 _ **Be sure to answer that and the others questions in your Review, and don't forget to Fav and Follow!**_


	25. Kraken Wants Out

_Kraken Wants Out_

 _ **Alright, it's been long enough. It is now time to start binging this one until I'm satisfied with where I'm at.**_

 _ **You might be asking if this story will also be ending within ten chapters, and the answer is: maybe. We're entering the New Rome arc, with this chapter being the end of the Cruise arc, and if this story is to end at the end of the New Rome arc, it's going to end on cliffhanger, and I didn't intend for that to happen. These arcs are the replacement for the**_ **Sea of Monsters** _ **, meaning the**_ **Titan's Curse** _ **would be next, canonically, for the PJO arcs, but the next**_ **Tokyo Ghoul** _ **arc is the Owl Suppression Mission, only with this continuity it would be the Kraken Suppression Mission, and Percy, Persia, and Kraken will not be sitting that one out.**_

 _ **So, after the New Rome arc is the Kraken Suppression Mission, which is going to be something. Either the end of this story, the first arc of the sequel, or just another arc.**_

 _ **Time will tell.**_

 _ **Anyway, I've been informed that it's getting boring reading about how Eto is always dominating Percy, and I agree. Time for some action!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Last Time, On_ _Green-Eyed Ghoul_ _:_

 _Amphitrite taught Persia how to mimic the abilities of sea life, and Persia used this newfound power to make like a clownfish, and alter her gender on a physical level._

 _Amphitrite also cursed her stepchild as her way at getting back at Poseidon, and she did this by making Persia a nymphomaniac. Whenever Persia is in her girl form, enough pressure to her vagina will cause the release of excess amounts of hormones and pheromones, making her seek sexual release immediately, however, Amphitrite made it where this release would only be sought from the current partner, meaning Persia isn't going to jump the first penis she finds._

 _Eto and Persia engaged in sex, in which Eto got too crazy and was too rough and caused enough pain to make Persia cry. After that happened, the One-Eyed Owl calmed down, and became more gentle. Persia and Eto's relationship changed, with Eto vowing to be more humane and respectful, as opposed to her domineering and dominating._

 _While those two had sex, Kaneki, almost completely white-haired and suffering from phantom pains of centipedes in his ears and his fingers and toes being cut off, restrained and rendered unconscious a furious Touka._

 _The Romans are chilling, and want off this boat._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **Current time**

As he had so many nights already, Kaneki bolted up with a scream, scrambling from his bed, clawing at his ears.

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Touka's eyes snapped open at the panicked shouting, and she was quick to rush to Kaneki's side. Her kakugan flared as she pinned him down and held his arms to the ground. Blood soaked the floor.

Because Kaneki had torn off his ears.

He struggled and thrashed under her, screaming about his fingers and toes.

"KANEKI!" Touka roared. "KANEKI, LISTEN TO ME!"

"AAAAAGH! THEY'RE IN MY EARS! GET THEM OUT!"

The Rabbit, terrified of what was happening, slugged the teen across the face hard enough to shred his cheek, blow out teeth, and tear his gums. Any human would have died immediately from shock, but not a Ghoul. Kaneki laid there, eyes wide, now still.

It took Touka a minute, but she found her voice. "Listen, you half-breed. There's nothing in your ears, and your fingers and toes are just fine, right where they need to be."

Despite the steel in her tone, the annoyance in her voice, she was scared. This was actually the third time this night alone Kaneki had woken from a night terror, screaming and attacking himself, and she didn't know what to do, what she could do. She didn't have a phone to call Anteiku with, didn't have a computer on hand, and she considered herself lucky no one had complained about the noise, and that no one like ship security had come to ask questions.

Kaneki was panting. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Touka took what she could get, and tried to brush off everything by throwing up her usual crass and uncaring persona. "Don't worry about it. Percy used to do this all the time when he was a kid, though he would also piss all over me. Almost put him in diapers because washing sheets and clothes got old real fast."

Kaneki looked at her with a flat eye. "Really?"

"No."

"Which part was a lie?"

"He never actually pissed on me, and I never threatened to put him in diapers, but he did crawl in my bed after a nightmare, sweating like he had just come in from a twenty-mile run at top speed. You good now? My legs are starting to hurt."

"Yeah, I'm good."

Touka let off Kaneki, and they both got to their feet. Blood soaked the sides of the Eyepatch's head and down his face, staining both his shirt and the floor. To Touka's extreme impressment, his ears and his cheek (presumably his teeth and gums as well) were all healed.

Then there was a frantic knock at the door, and the two Ghouls were then aware of a very distinct scent…only there was something distinctly off about it.

" _Touka? Kaneki? What's going on in there? I heard screaming! Please, open up!"_

Kaneki immediately made for the door, but he was yanked back by a scowling Touka. She stormed up to the door and almost ripped it off the hinges. "You smell like sex and it makes my nose burn. What do you want?"

Persia flushed, becoming flustered at having the oils and chemicals around her identified so easily. "W-Well, I-I heard screaming from way down the hall, and I—hey!"

The daughter of Neptune was wearing an ocean blue nightie that went a little above her knees, and Touka, smelling something way more wrong than just sex, flipped the front of the skirt up, revealing a simple pair of white panties…with no bulge. They were completely flat against Persia's crotch, and suddenly the reason for the smell was painfully clear.

Touka's face contorted. "What in the fuck…"

She grabbed Persia by the front of her nightie (where it had been procured was anyone's guess, as Touka certainly did not own any garments of the sort), and yanked her into the room, locking the door behind her.

" _Why_ do you have a vagina? How did that happen?" Touka demanded, red eyes glowing against the black of her sclera.

"S-Salacia, my stepmom, she showed me h-how I could mimic sea creatures, and the c-clownfish...can change its gender. I-I know I'm just a personality holding Percy's place until he's ready, b-but I wanted something to make me, _me_...and Salacia helped."

Touka and Kaneki were both silent for a while as they digested that, and Touka was done first. She jostled Persia. "And when Percy is ready, can he change back into a boy?"

"Y-Yes...I think so…"

Touka's eyes narrowed, and Persia suddenly started to feel very cornered. The young Ghoul was jostled again.

"Turn back into a boy, right now! I want to see it work to make sure."

Persia hastily shook her head, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Touka held up the nightie, watching intently. The panties expanded, the material crackling slightly, as male genitalia grew in the place of the female. The Rabbit nodded once. "Fine. You can switch back if you want."

Persia did that, as having a penis while wearing panties was not very comfortable.

A massive clapping sound suddenly boomed throughout the cabin, and Persia stared up at Touka from the ground with wide eyes, eyes brimming with moisture, a hand on her stinging cheek. Kaneki looked at Touka, deeply surprised.

"You _irresponsible_... _disrespectful_... _little BRAT_!" roared the Rabbit. Her red eyes glowed mercilessly as she glared down at her little sister. "I can understand running away after what happened. I can understand joining a group that makes you feel loved and accepted. I can understand going on a rampage and slaughtering dozens of humans."

Touka inhaled and exhaled several times, seemingly hyperventilating, trying to calm herself down from the tirade she was on, but she failed.

"But _SEX_!?" The volume made Persia flinch, making a few tears fall down her face. "You are not even _fourteen_ yet! And you're spreading your legs for someone twice your fucking age! Are you kidding me!? Have you given any thought to what might happen to you!? You could get fucking _pregnant_ for all we know!"

Kaneki piped up. "How?"

Touka rounded on him, furious eyes smoldering like burning coals. "She's a demigod. Conventional things don't apply. Considering some stories, it's not much of a stretch to believe that a female can get another female pregnant, and the last thing we need is for Persia to be pregnant with a kid, because if she changes back into a boy, that could very well kill the child, and no one here is prepared to deal with an infant."

"Oh."

Touka rounded back on Persia, but the words caught at seeing the girl's sniffling state. She was trying not to let loose a flood, but the dam was cracking. A little bit of guilt wormed into Touka's heart, but it was tiny compared to the flame that was still roaring in her. The Rabbit found her voice again and opened her mouth to deliver another riot act, but an iron grip clamped down on her bicep.

Kaneki was staring at her with a deadly serious gaze, his left eye emitting red light against a pool of black. "Let's take this outside."

Touka didn't get to protest before she was yanked out the door. In the hallway, she gained enough sense of public decency to whisper-yell, so as to not wake up everyone on this side of the ship. "What the hell!?"

The steel in Kaneki's eyes tempered Touka's fire. "I ask you the same thing. I can understand a big sister reprimanding her little sister for being irresponsible, but that was extreme, even for you. That was _more_ than just a little reprimanding, that was a full blistering. That was something fueled by more emotion than just anger. So: what the hell is wrong with you? You slapped Persia and made her cry."

Touka's defenses went up. "I don't have to explain shit to you, half-breed. Besides, this a family matter, and you're not a part of our fam—"

"And yet," Kaneki interrupted sharply, "Percy and Persia have both called me big brother. If that's not grounds for being considered family, then I don't know what is—and last I checked, you're not actually Percy and Persia's sister. You met them when they were four. I don't know what grounds you're using to say I'm not family, but I can guarantee I can find the flaw in your reasoning. So if this is a family matter, then I'm either privy to it, or neither of us are."

Touka scowled, deeply upset at this turn of events, even more upset at this switch in power. Kaneki was supposed to be a doe-eyed, bumbling, half-breed who didn't know jack about being a Ghoul, or Ghoul life. He was supposed to be inferior to her, yet here he was, bearing down on her, standing taller than her, eyes colder than hers, lecturing her, making more sense than her.

Kaneki wasn't an idiot. He was an avid reader, and had developed sharp characterization skills, and he knew how to identify idiosyncrasies and flaws, and he knew how to psychoanalyze. He knew Touka's type, she was prideful, protective, and most importantly, controlling. She thought, at least subconsciously, that the best way to protect her younger sibling was to have absolute control and authority over them, dictate them, command them.

And, well, in light of that night, in light of Aogiri Tree and Persia's relationship with Eto, Touka's control over the green-eyed Ghoul had slipped, fractured, and waned, and like anyone with a controlling personality that found their control diminishing, they became angry and sought to vent that anger in any way possible, and reassert control.

Case in point: Touka's unwarranted rage at Persia, and her slapping of the child.

"So, what is it, Touka? Why did you really slap your little sister? Why did you scream at her? Why did you make her cry?"

Touka remained silent, scowling, holding Kaneki's gaze as she refused to submit or show weakness.

"Why?" Kaneki probed again. "Why?" Harder. "Why?" More force. " _Why?_ " He was getting in her face. "WHY?" Kaneki pinned her to the wall. " _WHY_?"

And then Touka erupted.

"BECAUSE I'M LOSING HER, GODDAMMIT!" Her breathing labored. "I've been in her life since she was four, I've practically raised her alongside Sally and everyone else, I've played with her, spared with her, fought with her, took her hunting, celebrated every birthday, taught her how to read and write, homeschooled her, and saved her from the CCG. And what do I get in return for all of that? A slap in my face in the form of her opening up her legs for a green-haired bitch."

"You think you're losing her," Kaneki said, "but you're pushing her away."

"What?"

"Ever since we got on this boat and Eto became known, you've become distant and have avoided Persia like a plague. Stop it. Give her a hug, spend some time with her, plan some pranks, have a good fight, go for a swim. If you think you're losing her, go and find her. You think Persia's replacing you with Eto, and she's not. She just wants to love you again."

The door creaked open, and the teens' conversation came to a halt.

Persia's face was tear-stained, and her cheek was the faintest shade of pink. She didn't look at either of her siblings. "I'll—I'll just be going…"

Kaneki gave Touka a meaningful look.

Swallowing, the Rabbit placed a hand on Persia's shoulder, halting the sullen child. "Hey, stinky. You need a bath."

"Okay…"

Persia tried to leave Touka's grasp, but the Ghoul's grip tightened. "I meant _now_ , Persia. C'mon, I'll show you how girls are supposed to wash themselves, because I'm 100% sure you haven't had a bath since we got on this boat."

The daughter of Neptune brightened slightly. "Can you help me do my hair?"

"Yep."

Persia broke into a smile.

As Touka led her sister to the cabin's shower, she caught Kaneki's eye.

The white-haired Ghoul nodded with a small upwards twitch of the corners of his mouth.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Persia spent the rest of the night snuggled up against Touka, just like old times, and Kaneki spent the rest of his night reading. He claimed it was because he was wide awake and couldn't fall asleep if he wanted to, but Touka knew that he didn't want to wake Persia up later in the early morning with screaming from a night terror.

Kaneki didn't want to scare his little sister.

When morning came, everyone got dressed in their day-to-day clothes, with the Eyepatch throwing on a simple ensemble consisting of a black t-shirt and white shorts, the Rabbit putting on her usual clothes, a white button-down under a blue jacket with black shorts for bottoms, and Persia also kept it simple. An aquamarine camisole top with an aquamarine skirt. The combination made her eyes pop.

Touka helped do her sister's hair, pulling her bangs back, leaving two to frame her face, and made a loose ponytail. Persia didn't have much hair for anything more than a pixie style, but Touka had been trained in the Hair Arts by Sally Jackson, and was very skilled.

Since the Ghouls couldn't have human food, they skipped on breakfast, obviously, and since none of them were hungry, all having had their fill of meat at least a week prior, the insulated bag of human body parts remained untouched.

Per Kaneki's idea from last night, Touka laid out something of an itinerary for her and Persia to do for the day, and really the rest of the cruise because the captain said they were three days from the San Francisco ports. All of that was just fine with Persia, as she had been dying for this to happen ever since the schism.

A girl's day with her sister? Hell yeah!

She just needed to tell Eto first.

"Hehe," Touka laughed uneasily. "What? Why does Eto need to know any of this?"

Persia retreated into herself just a little bit. "Because she's my girlfriend…"

"Okay...and I'm your big sister. Eto'll be fine without you for a few days."

"Well, yeah, but…I don't want to just ditch her. She gets clingy, and she gets weird when she gets clingy."

Touka's eye twitched, her smile waning, but Kaneki clapped her shoulder, and looked at Persia with an eye smile. "Go and tell Eto what's up. Touka and I will be on the lido deck."

"Okay!" Persia sprang up and quickly gave both her siblings a kiss before darting out of sight.

Touka let out a very frustrated exhale. "I thought you said to "find her" since I was losing her."

"Yes, but I thought you'd have the maturity to realize that Persia is not all yours, anymore. She's going to want to split her time between you and Eto, and you're going to have to respect that. You'll also have to come to grips with the fact that she may want to spend more time with Eto than you."

"...that is not going to happen."

"But if it does," Kaneki said with force, "you will not be doing anything to break them up. I won't let you if you try."

Touka turned her head to look at him. " _You_ won't 'let me'? Since when did the inexperienced and stuttering half-breed have the balls to threaten me?"

"Since I woke up," Kaneki said almost coldly. "Now come on, I said we'd be on the lido deck, and that's where we're going to be."

He left the room, and Touka had to wonder just what the Eyepatch had been dreaming about to make him become the mature and serious young man he was now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eto blinked owlishly at her younger girlfriend. "So...you're having a sister's day out with Touka?"

"And probably the next three days, too."

"Oh. Have fun."

Persia blinked and shuffled awkwardly. "Just...like that? I can go?"

"Yes...why wouldn't I let you spend time with your sister?"

"Because you're possessive and clingy and you put your fingers in my butt when I don't spend enough time with you, and I don't like fingers in my butt...or anything in my butt."

"Oh, right," Eto said tersely as she remembered how she greeted Persia for the first time. "Well, I won't do that. Ever again. Now, go have fun with your sister. Just know that when you get back, we're shaking the world." Eto finished with a wink, and Persia scuttled away with a blush.

When the girl was out of earshot, even with her advanced hearing, Eto frowned _very_ deeply at her Little Sea Monster running out on her like this, and the One-Eyed Owl was _very_ displeased with the cause of such desertion.

"I'm going to skin that Rabbit…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day was a _blast_. Water slides, hydrokinetic cannonballs, a trip to the spa, sun bathing, and a fun little story involving poor Hazel.

The Louisianan had been coming out of her cabin when she caught sight of the shadows, and the wriggling tentacle monster steadily coming closer. Hazel had screamed and made a beeline for the opposite end of the ship. A search party had to be called, and they eventually found the daughter of Pluto wrapped around the flagpole, trembling like mad.

Persia and Touka giggled together like children at that.

However, as fun as this day was, the real fun didn't come till about three in the afternoon.

"Let's go swimming!" chirped the daughter of Neptune.

"Okay," Touka shrugged. She got up and headed for the pool, but her hand was grabbed.

"Not _there_ ," Persia stressed. "People _pee_ in that one. Let's go swimming _there_!"

Touka looked at where that slim finger was pointing, and paled. "Uh...I'm pretty sure fish pee in that one."

"Yeah, but that one's a lot bigger so the pee gets dispersed so much you can't tell it's there. Unlike _that_ one, where it's so crowded you can feel someone fart."

Touka suddenly remembered how much Percy hated public pools, citing how they always felt dirty and icky.

"I still don't think jumping over the rail is good idea—yi!"

Persia hollered in joy as she yanked her sister along behind her, and jumped with such great strength that she cracked the deck. The two girls soared through the air, one screaming in exhilaration, the other just screaming. The deep blue of the Pacific came roaring up to meet the two as they descended rapidly, and then _FLOOM_.

For the first time in forever, the child of the sea immersed herself in her natural element, and it felt amazing.

Persia got lost in the feeling of the ocean, lost in the subtle bliss. She could feel the nearby pods of whales, the hunting and migrating sharks and orcas, the massive balls of krill and bait fish. Persia could swear she felt something like warm, strong arms wrap around her, and soft lips touch her temple. She smiled at this phantom embrace, and she almost cried at how loved she felt right now.

' _Hey, Daddy.'_

The water around her warmed considerably before fading, Neptune's time spent.

For Persia, that brief meeting meant so much more to her than she could accurately describe. It meant that she, just a personality in Percy's head, was loved by her father as equally as he loved Percy himself. It helped served to assist Persia in validating her existence as more than just a collection of memories. It made her feel like her own person.

It made her feel...it made her feel...it just...it made her _feel_.

Persia was tapped on the shoulder, and turned around to see Touka struggling not to drown. She giggled and made an air bubble around her sister's head, to which Touka was very grateful for, but that didn't stop her from glaring.

Persia just giggled some more and grabbed Touka's hand, and shot through the water, dragging her sister along. Persia went straight for the nearby pod of whales, and the sheer size of these humpbacks almost made Touka pee herself. An instinct in her made her want to grab the happy little girl darting around one of the cows and drag her back to safety, as these were big animals capable of God knows what, but Touka watched how Persia interacted with the whales.

It was like watching a child play with some happy dogs.

A shadow fell over Touka, and she looked up to see a curious little calf was swimming around her, trying to figure out what she was. Even though it was only a baby, it was still times bigger than what Touka would ever be. Not at all at ease with the large creature swimming around her, Touka raised her hands and backed away as much as she could, given that she was immersed in the ocean.

' _Quit being silly.'_ Touka whipped around to see her sister glaring at her with her arms crossed. _'She just wants to play.'_

Touka just kept staring at Persia. "How are you doing that?"

Persia rolled her eyes. _'Sound travels better in water, baka. I'm just projecting my voice into your air bubble.'_

"Oh." The baby whale nudged Touka with her large mouth, and the Ghoul was brought back to the present. "Hey, stop that."

She was nudged again by the whale.

"Stop it." Touka was beginning to freak out just a bit, feeling threatened. A threatened Ghoul was not a good thing for anyone.

The calf nudged Touka a third time, and this time the kakugan sprang to life, scaring the calf enough to where it went swimming away to its mother.

' _That was mean. She was only curious.'_

"Yeah, well...curiosity killed the cat."

' _She was a whale.'_

"Oh whale," was Touka's pun.

Persia deadpanned. But then she perked up instantly when she registered something. Touka was suddenly pulled through the water, frowning at how easily she was being manhandled by her little sister. Persia pulled them both to where they were riding on top of one of the bulls, and Touka suddenly felt extremely apprehensive.

"Uh...Persia?"

' _Shut up and hold on!'_ came the exuberant response.

Touka hunkered down just in time for the bull to go surging for the surface and go roaring fifty feet into the air. Touka screamed and was thrown off. Persia whooped and had the time of her life as she allowed herself to be thrown off and land in the water with a floom.

Touka paddled through the water and grabbed her sister. "We are never doing that again."

A whale came crashing through the surface and Touka squeaked and hid behind her sister. Persia was grinning like a loon. _'We are so doing that again.'_

"No we are not—ah!"

Persia snickered as another whale came crashing down next to them. The whales were putting on a show for the "sea princess," as they called her. Persia found it flattering and it made her blush.

' _Come on, one more time!'_

Touka didn't get a chance to protest as she was dragged onto the back of another whale as it breached the surface, soaring thirty feet into the air before coming back with a massive splash.

Touka was pale as a sheet of paper, Persia was happy as Ghoulishly possible, and the whales eventually had to move on. To which Touka was immeasurably grateful for, and Persia was sad to watch happen. But all the fun and excitement was tiring for the younger girl, and she wanted to take a catnap. She would've been just fine with sleeping right there in the ocean, but Touka was opposed to that, and so Persia ferried them both back to the ship, to which they got back on board without anyone being any the wiser, found the cabin, and crashed together, with Persia snuggling into Touka's arms.

But it wasn't over yet.

The visit of Neptune's daughter to the pacific did not go unnoticed by otherwise hostile divinities, chief among them Oceanus and Kronos, who was sailing along in the Atlantic in a box, and the Time Titan had orders for his brother.

Three simple little words that were iconic, symbolic, unintentionally detrimental, and Oceanus followed without question:

"RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sisters were actually just waking up when they heard the screaming start, and it was enough to make them wide eyed and alert. The scent of an approaching sea animal, a big one, and panic made them bust out of their cabin in their bikinis. Something really big was coming up really fast, making a very big wake around itself, and where Touka wasn't spiritually enough attuned to sense it, Persia and the Romans were and the Romans were gathering arms and armor.

Persia instinctually recognized the approaching behemoth of a monster.

"The Kraken…"

She wasn't scared of it, she was on the ocean for crying out loud, but she was wondering how it got here, why it was here. Yes, she knew monsters were attracted to demigod scent, but _this_ many demigods, easily a hundred of them, maybe a few less, should have been enough of a force to drive any intelligent monster away, even the likes of the Kraken…or, more accurately, the Kraken was so powerful that this many demigods were a beacon, not a deterrent. Either way, it was here, it was a threat, and it needed to be killed.

Persia was just fine with taking this thing on, but someone wasn't letting that happen.

' _NO!'_

Persia stumbled and fell, clutching her head as her brother roared at her from inside.

' _No, I have watched you get pampered like a princess and screwed like a bitch by Touka and Eto respectively, while I've been stuck helping Percy. I am_ _not_ _letting you make me sit back on the sidelines anymore. I want OUT!'_

Touka fussed and freaked out over her sister, but Persia groaned as Kraken forced his way to the front, yanking her back into the Consciousness with Percy. Inside, Persia noted with great satisfaction that everything had been pieced together, and her brother was just sitting in a chair with his head in his hands, dressed in Anteiku's uniform.

Outside, Touka backed up instantly when her sister's eyes sprang open, green kakugan blazing. The scent changed, the aura changed, everything changed. Almost everything, anyway. Kraken was nice enough not to stretch his sister's bikini by switching to male, and he also didn't want to experience wearing female clothes while having a shaft. Persia's memories of that was enough for him.

"Touka," Kraken greeted curtly, and then he leapt over the rail.

The Rabbit was pale, because she realized just what had happened, and who was now out and about in the world, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. She looked over the rail and decided to watch, because, while on the fence about Kraken, the masked Ghoul was still her little brother.

In the water, swimming out to meet his namesake, Kraken took stock of his opponent. Big went without saying, its head seemed to be protected by a carapace shell, it looked to have four crab-like legs, massive arms with four fingers each, and a few super thick tentacles coming from behind the monster.

While this thing might have had tremendous size as its advantage, Kraken had the home field. He was immersed in it, surrounded by it, drawing constant power from it. He didn't need Medusa's head to kill this monster.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back on the ship, Vanessa the praetor found Touka. "Where's Percy!? Or Persia!?" Over the din of panicked shouting, she also had to shout. Touka just pointed out to where the Kraken was, and Vanessa turned in time to see something that made the blood rush from her face.

The Kraken came out of the water in all of its colossal glory, spraying water everywhere, but there was something on its neck, drawing blood, a lot of it. Touka recognized it as a dragon of her culture, a massive length of water coming from the ocean's surface, to bite the Kraken's neck. Vanessa thought it was a giant water snake.

In the water, dodging through the thrashing, Kraken the Ghoul was putting everything he had into his construct, putting everything he had into biting through the muscle, tearing through the esophagus, crushing the vertebrae. He could feel it working, just as the monster also felt it working, and it was getting more desperate, thrashing with more violence.

Kraken grew too focused on crushing and moving that he failed to see where he was moving, and he smashed right through an undersea rock and lost concentration. It was enough for the monster the free itself, the water dragon disappearing back into the waves. The Kraken, enraged and furious went headfirst into the water, mouth wide, intent on swallowing the Ghoul whole. Unfortunately, the monster was not wholly intelligent, nor was it aware of Kraken's ingenuity and resourcefulness.

With its maw wide open, it gave the son of Neptune a very big target to aim for. Calling upon the water all around him, Kraken shot upward like a rocket, barreling for the surface at 400 hundred miles an hour, kagune wrapped around him and the barbs all facing up. The monster's head erupted when something like a bullet from below went right through it, tearing right through its brain.

Kraken soared upward for a few dozen more feet before gravity took hold of him once more, and he splashed down amongst a sea frothing with golden dust. Next to him, a very big eye was casually floating around in the water, and he supposed that was his spoil of war, so he grabbed the cornea and started swimming for the boat.

When he got close enough, he propelled himself up over the rail just in time to hear the captain's announcement.

" _Thank you, crew and passengers, for your cooperation in out fire drill. Please, return to your activities and have a great time!"_

Just like that, dozens of doors burst open as the mortals did indeed return to their activities. Kraken found himself being stared at by a praetor and a handful of legionnaires.

"Yes, the eye is a bit weird, isn't it? I think I'll mount it on my wall."

"You just...you just…" Frank stuttered.

Hazel finished, "You just killed _the Kraken_ by _yourself_."

"A son of Neptune and water go very well together. If we were on land, that would've been much harder. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a place to put this, I need to tell Touka something, and I need to talk to my girlfriend."

All the Romans parted like the Red Sea before Moses as Kraken moved past them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The SSS-rated Ghoul found his fellow human-killers in Eto's cabin, Kaneki standing in between the two females, acting as a buffer zone. Touka looked very displeased, and Eto looked like she was enjoying the girl's displeasure.

"Kraken," Kaneki greeted with a nod. His brown eyes were darker, narrower, more serious. Kraken nodded in greeting and found this change in Kaneki pleasing. The green eyes slid to Eto, "We need to talk." A smirk and a little bit of lust, "I look forward to it." Touka scoffed but didn't say anything.

Kraken dropped the oversized eyeball. "Percy says he's ready to come back out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **That was fun. It's nice to get back into the swing of**_ **Tokyo Ghoul** _ **. I admit to not being very familiar with current manga events, but I do know there's a new season coming out, and apparently Kaneki's a super Ghoul that can turn into a 'Dragon.'**_

 _ **Fun.**_

 _ **There may be an event very far into the future in which Kraken and Dragon battle. Very far into the future.**_

 _ **So, Percy's pulled himself together after his psychological episode, all by himself at that, very impressive, and he's ready to come back out. What this means for Persia and Kraken remains to be determined, but this incarnation of Percy Jackson is far too nice to just kill off his 'siblings,' so that means no recombining. So don't ask.**_

 _ **And what's this?**_

 _ **A secret ending?**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Underworld_

She supposed it was nice here. No CCG, no enemy Ghouls, she didn't have to worry about hunger, or killing, or getting any of her family killed...but it was boring down here. It was repetitive, monotonous. This was what _peace_ was like. Stagnant, stale, the same thing, over and over again.

She was never a woman for settling down, not with her lifestyle. Besides...she had a son that needed her.

She recalled several stories about people leaving this plane of existence, most of them involving trickery and bartering, so she supposed she was going to be the first one to fight her way out. She'd probably have to go through a list of deities, maybe even hades himself, but it didn't matter.

She wanted out. She wanted to see her baby. And she would cut through anyone who got in her way.

Her white mask, serene and calm, her white cloak, rustling lightly, and her white wings, shaped like the dorsal fins of killer whales and littered with veins of red, spread widely, and with a powerful flap, she took off into the air, her kagune generating enough downwards force to propel her into the air.

Sally Jackson would see her son again in the living world, and God help any who tried to stop her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Yeah, I never intended to leave Sally in the Underworld, especially because her death was brought about by Kronos. Though how she gets out of here is going to quite the epic battle.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	26. Triplets

_Triplets_

 _ **The boat lands today, but not before Percy decides what happens to his "siblings," Kraken has his talk with Eto, and we see how Sally gets out of the Underworld...though I think many people will not like how it happens.**_

 _ **Anyway, onwards and upwards!**_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own PJO or TG

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Just because Kraken said Percy was ready to come back out, did not mean that Percy wanted out immediately. Rather, Kraken didn't want to go back in so soon after all he got to do was fight a single monster. Granted _the_ Kraken was nothing to sneeze at, but the aquatic battlefield made the Ghoul more than a match for the water-based monster.

You didn't attack children of Neptune while on the godsdamned ocean.

That was retarded.

Anyway, after Kraken dropped his technical bomb, he booted everyone out of the room so he could take off the bikini he was still wearing, and invoke the clownfish within to change his body to that of a male. Then he got dressed in his hunting garb of black capris, black shoes, and a black hoodie, all packed courtesy of Persia. The mask was also there, and Kraken put it on. From the inky depths of the eyeholes, two green lights briefly flashed.

When he was done dressing himself, he pulled Touka and Kaneki back into the room.

"So, you're Kraken, my brother's third personality."

The Ghoul nodded at his sister. "You made Persia, Uncle Yomo made me. Percy is Percy, Persia was everything girly and feminine about him, and I'm everything else. I'm the killer instinct, the cold, the calculations, the brutality. I'm the fighter Yomo trained Percy to be."

"Does that mean that Percy and Persia can't fight well, then?" Kaneki asked.

"Yes and no," Kraken answered academically. "Both of them still have all the knowledge, skill, and ability that Uncle Yomo taught us. They still know how to punch and kick, use their kagune, effectively kill, and how to hunt for food. They just lack the _oomph_ that I have."

Touka's eyes narrowed. "I'm not following. You say you're different from them, but at the same time, you're saying that you have all the same skills and stuff."

"Think of it like this: an athlete behaves one way when off the field of play, and behaves another when on. In everyday life, the athlete is a jokester, a ladiesman, a shameless flirt, borderline disrespectful to all around him, and almost a jerk...but, when he gets on the field, he's deadly silent, super serious, doesn't mess around, follows his assignments to the letter, and defers entirely to his coaches and the on-field captain.

"Why is that? It's because when on the field, he gets focused in, he pushes the bullshit out of his mind and gets serious, he enters a different state of mind. He puts on his _game face_. That's the psychology behind it, but the biology is that his body isn't producing the same chemicals as when he's off the field. Different chemicals mean a different state of mind. Everything psychological is biological.

"In regards to me and Percy and Persia, we all have our game faces, but when it was just Percy, his game face was so drastically different from his everyday face, that when the Split happened, the game face and the everyday face became two separate entities. Me and Percy, and Persia happened because there were enough memories of being dressed to form her own consciousness. Get it now?"

Kaneki understood fine. He had read a book before with this same premise. Speaking of books, he recognized Eto out there as Sen Takatsuki, the author of his favorite books, and it was a testament to how much he truly had changed because where he once would've started fanboying and begging for an autograph, he now gave her a warning look every time she and Touka were near, or when his adopted younger sibling was present.

For Touka, however, she was still wrapping her head around the concept, and the mental image went like this:

An American football player having fun with his friends at a bar, drinking and eating wings and slapping girls' assess, and then on the field, fully armored with a visor on the facemask. She pictured those two images overlapping, forming one, and then she pictured a flash of lightning, and the two images separated, the party boy and the football player standing in front of the other. It helped her understand better why Kraken had been born during the Split, but that didn't mean she was entirely on board with the concept.

Still, she nodded her head. "Got it."

"What happens now that Percy's ready?" Kaneki asked. "Will you and Persia disappear back into a single consciousness, or will you three remain as separate entities sharing the same body?"

"I have an idea that might work in regards to our continued independence, but understand this: I'm my own person now. I have my own thoughts and opinions, my likes and dislikes, my views and philosophies. I'm _not_ about to just vanish into someone's headspace," Kraken's eyes glowed brightly from the depths of his mask, "and I'll fight to survive if I have to."

Where Touka seemed uncomfortable with such a notion, Kaneki's eyes hardened.

"And if Percy's survival becomes at stake because you exist, I'll kill you."

Thirteen green and black whip-like tentacles sprouted from behind Kraken with the distinct crackle of a kagune. "You will try."

Kaneki's own kagune bubbled out from his lower back, his lone kakugan springing to life. "And I'll find the high ground."

The two young men held their supernatural gaze, while Touka was deadpanning at both of them. "You're both nerds."

Kraken looked at her. "Yes, but we're nerds that can snap steel rebar in half."

"Fair point."

"I need to talk to Eto."

Touka frowned, but Kaneki held up a hand to quiet her before and argument could happen. He looked at Kraken with a hard, mismatched gaze. "No sex."

"I didn't intend to have sex."

The Eyepatch nodded once and practically dragged Touka out of the room. Not even a full three seconds later, Eto was inside, smirking. Not a full second after the door closed, Kraken impaled the she-Ghoul with every one of his tentacles, spearing through limbs and organs. To Eto's credit, all she did was hiss slightly.

"Hello to you too."

"Shut up," Kraken bit out. "I am _not_ happy with you."

Eto looked down at the kagune impaling her, and at the blood pooling on the carpet. "Clearly. So, what's got your panties in a twist?"

Meanwhile, outside, Touka heard the sound of impaling flesh and smelled the blood. She pumped a fist. "Kick her _ass_!" she whispered to herself.

Back inside, Kraken's kakugan shined. "You raped my sister's ass with your finger, then you raped her ass with your kagune. You've abused her and mistreated her, making her out to be nothing more than a submissive little bitch."

Regret and guilt briefly passed through Eto's usually taunting eyes.

Kraken let up on the gas ever so slightly. "Granted, you have been doing a better job of showing respect and restraint, and for that I thank you, but I still don't forgive you for what you did."

His kagune flexed, and with a wet snap, he ripped off Eto's arms and legs, and the torso and head that she was fell to the floor.

"Your penance is however long it takes for you to regenerate." Kraken withdrew his kagune, bringing the severed limbs to him. His piece said and done, he left the room and threw the limbs overboard. Luckily no one was around to watch this, only Kaneki and Touka, the latter of which was almost cheering, the former of which was raising an eyebrow.

Inside, after the door was shut and she was left as a limbless amputee, Eto sighed. Typically, if her limbs were within reach, it would take usually only seconds to reattach everything. If that wasn't viable, then she could expend energy from her last meal and speed up the process, but her last full meal had been almost a month ago, with her only sustenance since then being the little bites she had taken out of Persia. And while the demigod/Ghoul hybrid was extremely delicious and high in the essential RC cells necessary for a Ghoul to live, it still wasn't enough to burn to get her limbs to speedily regenerate without sending herself into a frenzy.

So, Eto wriggled into a sitting position against the bed, and contented herself to patiently wait as her body naturally regenerated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kraken, by nature, was a loner. A lone hunter, a lone warrior, a lone wolf. He loved Touka and Kaneki, he did, like Percy and Persia did, but he was still a loner. So, instead of spending the rest of the evening with his siblings, he found a quiet place on the ship that no one, no human anyway, was going to get to.

In the relative peace of this place, Kraken entered the mindscape to join his immediate family.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was an exact rendition of Anteiku, or at least, Percy's room.

He and Persia were on the bed, cross legged in the same exact posture with matching expressions. To anyone looking, they were twins. To Kraken, it made him a little queasy at all the happiness and smiles. Looking at Percy, if you didn't know him, you'd think that nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened to him, but since Kraken and Persia both knew him very well, they could spot the differences.

His eyes were slightly downcast, hollow, a little bit emptier. His smile wasn't as bright, didn't reach as high, and wasn't as uplifting. His shoulders weren't as strong, or wide, or broad, instead being slumped by maybe millimeter or two. He was a changed boy, the psychological trauma of getting his mother killed, being verbally attacked by Touka, killing all those CCG members in cold blood, and then learning it had all been a great lie had taken its toll on him.

Percy was only a child, after all, not even fourteen yet, not until August in a few months. Not only a child, but he was a child that admittedly not been through a lot. Sure, a few tussles and scrapes with the CCG and other Ghouls, but nothing seriously hardening, nothing to seriously make him an emotional tank.

He wasn't Shin'en, in that he had been through so much that almost nothing phased him anymore.

He wasn't Asteria, in that he was biologically incapable of regret, remorse, and guilt.

He wasn't like the Leviathan or the Psychopath, who were so off their rockers that there was hardly any kind of emotional event that could damage them.

He wasn't like the Assassin, in that he had almost godlike mental fortitude.

Yes, Percy had killed people, but none of it had been with emotion. Him killing another person was like a hunter killing a deer, or some ducks, or a fish. It was for food, plain and simple. On top of this, he didn't have the trying childhood of everyone else. He wasn't an orphan that watched his fellow orphans get blown up by a lightning bolt. He wasn't captured at birth and poked and prodded with needles, and had his DNA tampered with. He wasn't thrust into another world, bereft of age and memories, and tortured. He wasn't damned since conception, and then brutally beaten and cut apart by his own mother. Nor was he literally soulless child that was suddenly burdened with multiple lifetimes of memories. Nor did he watch his mother get raped and have her blood splattered across his face.

This Percy had a happy childhood, with a Sally that loved him, a big sister that adored him, aunt and uncle figures that cared for him, a grandfather figure that protected him, and a brother that now watched out after him.

In layman's, compared to other childhoods, this Percy actually lived a rather sheltered one.

He didn't have the emotional steel to handle trauma like his interdimensional selves did.

Which was why, when he experienced such devastating trauma, he shattered into pieces, some of which were able to coalesce into new beings, and the rest had to be put back together. Granted, Percy was able to piece himself together all by himself, which was something to be commended, but he had done it...roughly.

Hence the subtle differences in him now.

"Did you mean it?" Percy asked, looking at Kraken. "About not wanting to be one, again?"

"Yes. And I meant it when I said I'd fight to stay alive as well."

Percy looked at Persia. "You too?"

She didn't say anything, not wanting to sound as cruel and brutal as Kraken, but her silence and the look in her eyes was all Percy needed. She didn't want to go either. Percy himself didn't want her to go. He didn't want Kraken to go either.

"But...how are we gonna do it?" he asked both of his siblings. "Like, I'll be out for a few days, then Persia, then you? Or—"

"Stop," Kraken said. Percy shut his mouth, and he and Persia looked at the coldest killer present. "Salacia said that as children of the sea, we can use all the abilities of sea creatures. Persia's used it to make herself a biological girl."

"Okay, so? How does that help?"

"Because, the clownfish changes its gender, and sea sponges reproduce by cloning themselves. They duplicate their cells into completely new beings. Coral reefs do the same thing."

Percy was catching on. "So...if we duplicate our cells...and form a separate body…" he trailed off as the gears in his head grinded. It sounded plausible in theory, but there was one issue, "But, even we do make a separate body, how are we going to get into it?"

He was of course speaking of how they were going to split the consciousness.

"That's the divine aspect of it," Kraken answered. "The physical, scientific, and biological method is to make like a coral reef and duplicate, and the divine method is to transfer any of our consciousnesses into the duplicate body."

Percy mulled it over, then he looked at Persia. "What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me. I mean, if we can switch genders on a cellular, genetic, and chromosomal level by copying the clownfish, then it makes sense we can copy sea sponges and corals and make separate bodies." She looked at Kraken.

"Let's try it."

The black-garbed Ghoul nodded and left the mindscape.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He would never admit it verbally, but Kraken was a little apprehensive about this endeavor. Nevertheless, he stood up and raised his arms to his sides, imagining a coral reef expanding as it duplicated its cells, imagining a sea sponge cloning itself. He imagined branches coming from him, branches growing and coalescing into two bodies.

His arms felt weird, and when he looked at them, he saw that branches of skin and bone were rapidly growing out from him and connecting to form bodies. Kraken watched, transfixed, at the morbid event before him. He could feel the bones duplicating, the skin cloning itself as it formed new arms. And those arms flowed into shoulders, and then torsos, and then legs and the other arm, and the head.

Growing from either of Kraken's arms were perfect replicas of himself, naked, both anatomically male.

The process of cloning ended, and the two clones were engulfed in a brief flash of green, and their eyes opened. One of the clones blinked, then closed his eyes and concentrated. The penis more or less got sucked into the body and what was left was a set of labia.

"It worked," Persia stated.

"Almost," Kraken said, "our arms are still connected." He waved said arms, and his siblings' arms moved as well, because they were still connected by branches of bone and skin.

"How are we going to fix that?" Percy asked.

The triplets thought about it, and then Kraken sprouted his kagune and cut right through the branches, severing the extended bones and skin. It separated the arms, but now each Ghoul had grotesque protrusions on their arms that were profusely bleeding.

"Now what?" Percy deadpanned.

Kraken raised his mask so that his mouth was visible, and he began to bite off the protrusions like they were carrot sticks, and spat them on the floor, because as tasty as he was, he was not one to engage in self-cannibalism. He bit all the way down to his bones, so when his regeneration kicked in, the bone and the skin would heal over the way it was supposed to look.

Percy and Persia shrugged and did the same.

After they were all done biting themselves, they had a reflection period.

"Good news is that it worked," Kraken said, "bad news is that it took too long and it left us with extra bones on out arms that we had to remove."

"What does the time have to do with anything?" Percy asked.

"He's thinking about combat applications," Persia sighed. "He's got it in his head that being able to split into two or three on a dime would be a great advantage in battle."

"But am I wrong?"

"No," Persia conceded, "but still. You're already thinking of the next fight when we're supposed to be figuring out our powers."

"Speaking of, what if we want to merge again?" Percy asked. "What if we _need_ to merge again? Our bodies, anyway. I mean, we don't know what this will do to us, splitting. For all we know, we might get cancer and we're gonna start degrading."

Kraken and Persia paused as thoughts over something like that happening floated through their heads.

The monochrome Ghoul spoke up first, "If something like that happens, we'll figure it out when it does. For now, we'll just enjoy the fact that we're able to be our own separate persons and don't have worry figuring out a timeshare for a single body."

Persia gave a thumbs-up at that notion, but Percy had something to ask. "Um, if we're technically triplets, what's our, like, order? Like, who's the oldest, middle, and youngest?"

Kraken snorted. "I'm the oldest, Persia's the middle, and you're the baby."

"I'm not the baby!" Percy outraged. "And if anything, I'm the oldest, you're the middle, and Persia's the baby!"

The only girl present went through a variety of actions typical of a girl who just heard a cartload of bullshit, all of which ended with hands on hips and raised eyebrows in the expression of "are you sure about that?"

"Really? I'm the baby?" Persia flipped a hand through her hair and examined her nails. "Girls mature faster than boys, and Kraken is a lot more mature than you, _baby_ bro."

"Not the baby!"

Thus began the first sibling quarrel between the triplets.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _The Underworld_

Hades couldn't decide whether to feel amused, amazed, or annoyed. Amused that a soul was consciously trying to escape his realm, and amused that said soul honestly thought it could succeed. Amazed that a soul was actually trying and making descent headway. Or annoyed because a soul was trying to escape his realm and was making descent headway.

He had raised several battalions of the undead already, and the Death Angel had torn right through them all with almost minimal effort. Hades had to give the Ghouls credit: they were formidable creatures of great physical prowess, able to outmatch demigods with ease, fighting the strongest of monsters with almost no strain on their end.

Hades recalled that stint at Camp Half-Blood over a year ago, when he had sent three packs of hellhounds, the Minotaur and his Furies. Only for all of them to be slaughtered by Percy Jackson, the son of the she-Ghoul attempting escape. Granted, one might have made the argument that Percy had been in water and that increased his power, but Hades knew it was mute.

Water or not, Ghouls were inherently powerful creatures, and he had been watching them, just like every god had been watching them. Oh yes, after the mythological world saw just what Percy Jackson, the demi-Ghoul, could do, the minor and major gods practically invaded Tokyo in almost desperate attempts to sire their own demi-Ghouls. This endeavor lasted for all of ten minutes before Zeus brought his bolt down and declared it expressly illegal to set foot on Eastern soil, and made it even more expressly illegal to sire, mother, adopt, make a champion of a Ghoul. You couldn't even _interact_ with a Ghoul, Eastern or otherwise.

Hades agreed, not that he would admit it. Percy Jackson was a handful all by himself, the last thing the world needed was a small army of other demi-Ghouls with various power and parentages. Though Hades wondered how long it would be before Zeus broke his own law and suddenly there was a lightning-spewing anklebiter out there that needed to eat people.

He'd give it a decade, three at the maximum.

Anyway, his present dilemma of the escaping soul.

Sally was tearing through skeletons with ease, and would more than likely be able to handle Cerberus, Orthrus, Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone with only a little more effort, and she may or may not be able to handle any of the gods under Hades' command. He could call upon Melinoe and Thanatos any time he wanted, both of who were powerful deities in their own rights, and there a few others Hades could think of, but even so…

Could Sally Jackson fight a god? Minor or otherwise?

Off the top of his head, no. She was a mortal, after all, a Ghoul, yes, but still a mortal. And mortals didn't have the greatest track record of defeating a god in single combat. Tricking, duping, and deceiving, oh sure, but not fighting. However, on the other hand, there was the fact that she had been impregnated by the essence of a god, had carried a godling in her for nine months.

Athena had done a study on the women that slept with gods, observing how they were before pregnancy, and after. The study showed that the women were more physically fit, that they had a certain kind of glow about them, they handled stress with better ease, and their Sight increased. She had done a study on the males as well, and the data was highly similar.

Athena's conclusion was that exposure to the godly essence, whether it be penis in the vagina, penis in the anus, or vaginal contact, gave the receiving mortal a "boost" as it were. An increase in everything, just as the gods were higher than mortals in everything. Though this boost was more prevalent in pregnant women, as they carried the developing godling in their wombs for nine months.

Though there were a few anomalies in this study where a mortal man had slept with Apollo and carried a child in his naval cavity like a woman, and those anomalies made Hades want to throw up, but anyway.

Sally was a Ghoul who had sex with a god, but not just any god, but _Poseidon_ , whose essence was much stronger than that of Hermes, or Ares, or Apollo, or Demeter. And such an essence had been used in tandem with the egg cells to produce an unprecedented child that spent nine months in Sally's womb. Nine months exposed—directly exposed—to godly energy.

Would such exposure give her the "boost" necessary to face a Greek god in combat?

Now Hades had made himself curious, because now he wondered what an uninhibited Sally Jackson could do when motivated to get to her son. He said uninhibited because he knew very well that his father had been the direct cause for Sally's sickness and failure in combat with Jason, Mado, and Amon.

Now she had no such affliction, and she was _dead_ after all, so she wasn't limited by things like the need to breathe, or fatigue, or pain or injury.

"Thanatos," Hades said, and the angel of death rose from a pool of shadow that formed on the floor. The God of Death bowed. "My lord."

"Go forth and do battle with our would-be escapee. Subdue her and bring her before me."

"Thy will be done."

Thanatos' wings sprouted, and he flapped into the air before soaring off.

The great God of the Underworld grinned, eager to witness the coming fight.

In the shadows behind the god's throne, two red lights the size of eyes glowed to life, and a sword flat as paper, polished as a mirror, and long as some men were tall was put to Hades' throat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

If Sally were in a good mood, she probably would have been elated to have come this far in her quest to leave the Underworld, but she was not in a good mood. She was pissed, devastatingly so. She was pissed at the endless swarms of skeletons, she was pissed at the distance, and she was pissed that she had been killed in the first place. Rusty as she may have been, she should've been able to take out at least the Investigators and severely damage Jason, but neither had happened.

If she recalled correctly, she needlessly fought on when she should've escaped, recuperated, and hunted. What, exactly had she been thinking then, she didn't clearly remember, but that didn't matter now. She had engaged in battle, she had died, and she had left her babies up there without her.

There was no telling what Percy had done, was doing, or will do without her. It worried Sally to think of what had happened to her baby boy in her absence, and so she was on a mission to escape the Underworld, and she was going to cut through everyone and everything in her way.

Like this growing mass of shadow that loomed above her.

Sally sprouted her kagune and slammed it against the air, launching herself high. No, Ghouls with Ukaku kagune could not actually fly, but they could glide and use their wings as jumping aids. Sally could clear small buildings when she tried super hard, and in this instance, she tried uber hard, gaining more than a full twenty feet of extra height over her usual max, so when her ankle was grabbed and she was flung to the ground, she was very annoyed.

No, not just annoyed, but _livid_.

She got to her feet, kakugan blazing with displeasure. The shadow mound took humanoid form, coalescing into a winged figure in a tunic twice the size of the average man, with deep black skin and giant wings of black feathers. It was a handsome man, with pure white eyes and schooled features.

"Sally Jackson," Thanatos said, "you have committed crimes against the Underworld and its rulers. What say you in your defense?"

"Praise the sun."

"Wrong game."

"Whatever." Sally's wings crystallized and launched a volley of RC crystals.

Thanatos became like shadow, and each projectile shot right through him. He solidified. "Cease and desist, woman. Submit and allow yourself to face Lord hades, and your judgement will be less harsh than if you persist."

Sally glared. "I'll take my chances."

Thanatos inclined his head slightly, and the Death Angel swore she saw a sadistic gleam appear in those white orbs. " _So be it_."

The God of Death appeared in front of Sally, and she did not block fast enough to prevent herself from taking a punch square in her face that sent her skidding across the trampled black grass. She never left her feet though, but that was hardly the full force of Thanatos' punch.

That didn't stop Sally from taunting. "That all you got? My son hit harder when he was training pants."

" _Pointless banter will not save you."_

"Then shut up and fight me already."

" _As you wish."_

Thanatos strolled right up to the woman, his fists to his side. Sally raised hers, and when the god was within ten feet, she tensed and vanished. She appeared thirty feet away, crouched, and pushed off hard enough to crack the Underworld's earth. Even at her speed, Thanatos caught her fist, slung her over his head and into the ground, and she sprouted a wing that swiped at his hand, making him let go, and pushed her self away. Thanatos took a step forward and drop-kicked her square in her chest, making her skid away on her back.

When she stopped, she did a handspring to a stand and fired a volley of crystals. Thanatos shadowed himself and all the projectiles flew through him. He sped forward and threw a series of boxer-like jabs, all of which sally batted away, though her hands numbed from the force behind the fists. But that didn't stop her from landing a cross to the cheek that made Thanatos step to the side to keep his balance, and Sally pressed, landing cross after cross, knocking Thanatos a step back with each punch, until he grabbed her next punch, rammed his knee into her gut, and threw her over his shoulder into the dirt hard enough to crater the ground.

Then Thanatos pulled a Hulk and began to slam her about left and right until a final sling put sally four feet into solid earth. Still holding her arm, the God of Death brought the Ghoul to his face.

" _Had enough?"_

Sally's eyes snapped open, and she wrapped her legs around the god's throat, sprouted a wing that severed the arm holding onto hers, and began to hold on for dear life as the god she was choking began to thrash like an animal in a sack. Her other wing sprouted and she began to viciously stab the god in everywhere she could reach, all the while batting away the other arm of Thanatos that was trying to grab her.

He God of Death slammed about into trees and boulders, trying to shake Sally off to no avail, though her grip began to slip. So she flipped over, grabbed the wings of the Angel of Death, planted her feet, and _pushed_.

Thanatos roared in fury and agony as his wings were _ripped_ from his back in a spray of _ichor_.

Sally stood opposite the de-winged angel, vindictive, serious, and enraged. An instinct overcame her, and she brought the wings to her back, placing them at her kakuhou. The divine tendons slithered out of the bleeding wounds and into her back, digging down to reach the organ from which her kagune was released. Sally gasped at the sensations, but when ti was over, she spread her four wings wide, her kagune rising above the black wings of Thanatos.

"I am the Death Angel," she declared. "And you will not keep me from my son!"

Red veins erupted across the black wings, starting from her kakuhou and expanding to engulf the whole structure in a red chrysalis. The red cracked and shattered away, revealing that the black wings had been transformed into another whole set of Ukaku wings. White with red veins, a big red circle close to the middle of the wing, the wing itself shaped like an orca's dorsal fin.

Thanatos' eyes widened slightly at the four wings that were splayed wide at him. His wings had been converted into a kagune, and the only explanation he could come up with was that the trickle of divinity in Sally, that trickle that came from Poseidon's essence and carrying his child for nine months, was enough to pull off the otherwise improbable.

And it infuriated the Death God beyond bounds.

His eyes glowed and the shadows swirled around him as the winds began to howl. _"I will see you subjected to the worst tortures of the Underworld!"_

And then Thanatos got serious. He brought out his full divine might, the full might of a _god_ , and he was going to flatten Sally, and she knew it, too. She could feel just how outclassed she had become, how powerless she was against Thanatos, but that didn't stop her from engaging one in last, desperate attempt.

She launched a massive volley of RC crystals, finding that were many more fired for less of a cost. And she broke into her fastest run, moving at over three hundred miles an hour for everything she was worth. Running right for the exit.

She never even got close.

Thanatos had grown to a gigantic height, and his massive hand came down on top of Sally like a flyswatter, crushing her. She was dead, so she couldn't be killed again, nor did she feel pain, but there was a certain humiliation in being squashed like a bug.

But there was a rolling voice that echoed over the whole of the Underworld.

 _Let her go. It is the Fates' decree._

Thanatos didn't look happy with that, but he wasn't about to argue with Hades, especially when the Fates were involved. Hades didn't lie about decrees from the Fates, and he certainly didn't lie about escaping souls.

With anger still burning in him, Thanatos let the Ghoul go, and as soon as she hit the ground, she was off and running for the exit. She vaulted the River Styx, landed on the opposite bank, and kept going until the mist became too thick to see her in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _A few minutes ago_

Hades didn't show any outward reaction to a sword being placed at his throat, but he instead occupied himself with thoughts of how exactly this happened. The person holding the weapon was obviously very skilled in stealth and infiltration, being able to enter his realm without his knowing, and make their way to behind his throne. There was also the smell and the aura. It was like that of the sea, like Poseidon, only it was so cold, so crushing, so dark.

Hades supposed this was what Challenger Deep felt like.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked the god in a neutral tone.

"I am highly annoyed, and what I want is to be out of here as soon as possible. To do that, however, I need you to allow Sally to leave the Underworld unharmed, and let her return to her son, no ifs, and, or buts."

"On whose authority do you have to demand such a thing from me?"

Hades instantly realized that was the wrong question to ask, because the temperature plummeted, his ears popped, and he suddenly found himself being crushed and suffocated by the assailant's cold, heavy, and oppressive aura.

" _My_ authority, God of the Underworld. I am in no mood for games and questionnaires. Do as I say, or the children you've hidden in Vegas will become permanent residents of your house."

Hades' eyes widened, and he attempted to feel fury and rage at the threat to Nico and Bianca's lives, but the cold was too much, the aura too commanding, unyielding, unwavering. All Hades could do was manage a low exhale of displeasure.

"Call. Thanatos. Off."

Hades nodded his head slightly, and the sword was brought away.

"Come after me or slight me from this point, and it will be the Fates that you answer to."

Well, that answered Hades' question of where this person's authority was coming from, and that knowledge did not stop him from magnifying his voice to carry over his realm to order Thanatos to stand down and release Sally.

With his order relayed, Hades asked aloud, "Who are you?"

"An annoyed planeswalker that's being dragged across dimensions like a party favor."

The aura vanished, and Hades knew that the assailant had also vanished. A planeswalker, huh? Interesting.

Very interesting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **I know it's been over a week, but I finished this chapter in two days. I feel a little bad, but at the same time, I don't.**_

 _ **To recap, Kraken, Percy, and Persia have figured out how to live in harmony by utilizing the ability of sea sponges and coral reefs to duplicate the main body. Yes, sea sponges and coral reefs actually do that, so you can Google it if you don't believe me. And they figured out how to put each of their consciousnesses in one of the bodies, but it comes at the price of extra bones and skin connecting all of them, the process is slow, and the new bodies are naked. They also bicker about what the "age" order is between them, though they all agree that they're now triplets.**_

 _ **Sally made it out of the Underworld with help from You Can Guess Who, and I've got one more plan for that guy before**_ **Backup Plan: War** _ **begins development, but before that time comes, bear in mind I want to finish this arc of**_ **Ghoul** _ **, and then I want to binge**_ **Transcendence** _ **.**_

 _ **Now, if you've used the web version and not the mobile, you'll notice new cover art for most of my stories. These images are courtesy of KryptertJ, who wouldn't mind some business, so go bother him. No, really, bother him, a lot. He needs to be bothered. Don't ask why, just know that he requires bothering.**_

 _ **Fellow author Wrath of the Sun Deity has started a Reading of**_ **Assassin's Creed: Transcendence,** _ **so please go and support him in his story.**_

 _ **I believe that's it for this chapter, so be sure to Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	27. Ghouls and Romans: Pt 1

Ghouls and Romans: Pt. 1

 _ **Alright,**_ _ **today**_ _ **the boat lands, but not before some triplet shenanigans. And Sally breathes fresh air for the first time in a few months. And the campers of Camp Jupiter are going to feel really inferior.**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The last night on the boat was uneventful. The Romans were collectively glad to be getting off soon, especially Hazel and Jason. Kaneki and Touka were rather indifferent. The cruise, in spite of Persia and Percy and Kraken, had been rather peaceful for them. No worries about hunger, no worries about the CCG, and no worries about being attacked by other Ghouls. Eto was close to having her limbs fully regenerated, she was just having to wait for her hands and feet to grow back.

As for the triplets...they decided to have some fun come morning, and by "they," it really means Percy and Persia. Kraken just rolled his eyes and blew air out of his nose, and gave no promises about attendance for anything his little brother and sister had planned.

To which Percy protested being the "little" brother, to which the other two just patted him on the head.

In the morning, Touka walked out of her cabin and was greeted by her sister.

"Morning, Touka!" Persia leapt up and nipped the older Ghoul's shoulder, the siblings' special way of greeting each other.

"Morning." Touka nipped Persia's shoulder in return. "Where were you last night? You didn't come in. I would've been worried if I didn't know you couldn't sink this boat and everyone on it."

"Oh, uh…" then Persia winked. "Secret!" And she flitted away with a flourish and a giggle.

Touka deadpanned. Kaneki emerged and stood next to her. "We have a strange sibling."

"Yeah…"

"Hey, sis!"

"Hey, Percy."

Kaneki's eyes widened, and it took Touka a second or two before it clicked. She whipped around, eyes wide. "PERCY!?"

The boy giggled. "Hey, nee-chan! Been a while."

Touka pinned him to a wall and immediately began fussing over him, checking over his hair, his clothes, his face, his body, asking a nonstop stream of questions and apologizing profusely. All of it culminating in the most bone crushing hug ever delivered by a big sister to her little brother.

Percy actually started to fear for his life as the pressure on his spine increased to almost lethal pressure, so he more or less panicked and reacted by biting Touka's shoulder, tearing through her clothes and down deep into the muscle.

The Rabbit yelped, more in surprise than in pain, and recoiled with an angry look. "Brat!"

Percy huffed, mouth bloody. "Well, don't try to crush my spine!"

"I'll crush your spine if I want to, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"I'll bite you," Percy threatened seriously. "All over. It'll look like you and Kaneki had twelve straight hours of vigorous—"

"That does it!" Touka dove at Percy, who dodged, and thus began a violent game of tag.

Kaneki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He recalled a time where he would've laughed nervously and tried to diffuse the siblings' conflict, but now all he could find in himself was minor annoyance and marginal humor. Then he slapped his hand to his ear as the phantom wriggling erupted again.

The wriggling of a centipede.

Kaneki stumbled to the wall as he waited for the feeling to pass, and when it did, like it always did, he realized something: Percy and Persia were separate. There were two distinct scents. They had split. Did that mean Kraken had split as well?

Since he literally had nothing better to do, he followed the scents of Percy and Touka to the breakfast hall, where he found the latter two sitting with a girl that looked exactly like Percy, so, Persia. They were all drinking coffee. Percy saw him and waved at him exuberantly, raising out of his seat only to be yanked back down by Persia for almost causing a scene. The siblings promptly stuck their tongues at each other.

Kaneki blew air out of his nose in good humor, and swiveled his eyes to where he could smell the familiar sea-like scent of another Ghoul. He saw a masked, black-clad individual at the far side of the breakfast hall, who flashed a brief peace sign. Kaneki nodded, and joined the other three, respecting Kraken's silent request for solitude.

"Hey, nii-chan," Percy chirped.

As Kaneki sat, he raised a brow at the Japanese. He, like everyone at Anteiku, was bilingual, fluent in English and their native language, but they preferred English. So, for Percy to be mixing his English and his Japanese was a little strange.

"Morning." The white-haired Ghoul took a sip of the coffee offered by Touka, and almost spat it out. "Tastes almost like human food."

"I know," Percy stressed. "I added a bunch of creamer and sugar but I _still_ couldn't get it to taste any better."

Kaneki didn't know what else to stay to that, so he just reached across the table and patted the pouting child on the head. He leaned back in his chair and addressed the proverbial elephant in the room.

"So, how did you manage to split like this?"

"Coral reefs and sea sponges," Persia answered. "Kraken figured it out; it's the same principle behind me using the clownfish to turn into a girl."

"I see," Kaneki said. Touka raised a brow at him, not comprehending what she was told. "Sea sponges and coral reproduce by duplicating themselves. Cloning."

Touka was more familiar with cloning. She looked at her little brother and sister. "So, did you, like, cross your fingers and make a poof of smoke and boom?"

Percy shook his head.

"Nope," Persia answered. "Kraken made two whole bodies from his own. It was really weird, and it got messy because we were still connected like Siamese twins, and we had to cut ourselves free. It didn't hurt, but there was a lot of blood."

"...uh-huh," Touka said distantly.

Kaneki blinked a few times. "Does Eto know about this?"

Two thirds of the triplets answered in tandem. "Nope!"

"Kraken's mad at her," Persia answered. "And he won't let us talk to her until we make port."

"Why's he mad at Eto?"

The triplets flushed slightly, and Kaneki and Touka shared a quick look.

"Siblings of mine," Touka said clearly, "what did Eto do?"

"We had s-sex," Persia said, which wasn't exactly news to anyone. This argument had already been had. "A-And, well...it was...it was...it was kinda _rough_ …"

Kaneki suddenly became very serious, and Touka cracked the table when she gripped the edge.

"Define _rough_ ," the Rabbit said coldly.

Persia promptly hid her scarlet face with her hands, and Percy coughed into his fist.

"Eto can do this thing with her kagune, and wrap it around herself down to between her legs, and she can turn it into a thingy, and, well...she put it up Persia's butt."

There was a decent count of four before Kaneki and Touka rose from the table, fully intent on tearing Eto apart, but they turned around to find Kraken waiting right behind them.

"Calm down, I took care of it."

"Elaborate," Kaneki barked.

"I cut off her arms and legs at the joints and left her to regenerate. She's probably had to eat herself to grow her limbs back appropriately. Like I said: I handled it."

Kaneki frowned slightly, but Touka still looked to be on a warpath.

"Don't care. I'm getting my own pound of flesh out of that cunt."

Before she could even take a single step forward, two pairs of slender arms gently wrapped around her. Touka's fury evaporated, and was replaced with annoyance. "You two...I swear you're both spoiled."

Percy and Persia jumped up and nipped Touka's shoulders, then scampered away to go do something together.

Kaneki and Touka both looked forward, and saw that Kraken was also gone.

The Rabbit palmed her face. "Children."

Kaneki patted her shoulder. "Pray we don't have any."

"Yeah…" then Touka realized what he had said. "Hey, what!?"

A ghost of a smirk crossed the white-haired Ghoul's face as he walked away, ignoring the calls after him. When he felt the hand reaching through the air to grab his shoulder, he vanished in a burst of speed, leaving Touka to growl at being brushed aside like that, and very confused about that comment...and about why, on some level, it had hurt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _San Francisco_

The Romans were mostly ecstatic to see the harbor, because it meant dry land and safety. Jason, Hazel, and Frank were a little disappointed with the voyage, because it had started off with them being friends with Persia, and then she kinda disappeared on them, and then it comes up that she can switch genders, split bodies, and split consciousnesses. The three Romans hadn't even met Percy _or_ Kraken, and so the Ghoul siblings left a sour taste in the Roman trio's mouths.

As for the praetor, Vanessa, she was a little nervous. Reasons for that later.

The Ghouls themselves weren't particularly excited or downtrodden. Eto, Touka, and Kaneki were all wondering if they were going to have to kill everyone, and what their chances of surviving such a massacre would be. The triplets had more or less mixed feelings, with Percy looking forward to some new sites, Persia wondering if New Rome had any good clothes, and Kraken was anticipating terrain and how it could be used to fight off hordes of enemies in the worst-case scenario.

When they actually docked and everyone was off and the SUVs were there, Percy took a deep whiff of the air, and looked towards the distant hills. "That's where their camp is," he pointed.

His siblings and Eto took their own sniffs of the air, and found that, indeed, there was a strong scent coming from the hills.

Vanessa blinked. "How did you…how can you smell that far?"

"We're super predators," Kaneki said. "Our sense of smell is the strongest on the planet, and you demigods have probably the most distinct scent on the planet...and there's a lot of it coming from over there."

"You should invest in some scent blocker," Percy said matter-of-factly with a nod.

Vanessa blinked again, trying to figure out where _this_ one came from, and then she remembered that Percy was the one she was supposed to be bringing to Camp Jupiter. Only he was now accompanied by his big sister, his big brother, his triplet siblings, and his girlfriend(?).

She was still wrapping her head around the concept of someone like Eto having a sexual relationship with someone like Percy.

But anyway.

"Uh, we'll be heading to Camp then, so...pile in?" Vanessa wasn't sure how Ghouls operated.

"Nah, we'll beat you there," Touka said, and she began to stroll down the wharf towards the hills.

Persia and Percy waved and followed, Kraken just followed, as did Eto, and Kaneki lingered for a moment, locking eyes with the praetor.

"I know why you were sent to bring Percy here, and at the time I fully agreed with you. Now, however, things have changed. That's not the same Percy Jackson that slaughtered over 600 people that night, and so I want to make one thing perfectly clear to you, and anyone above you…"

Kaneki's lone kakugan sprang to life, and Vanessa flinched.

"Pull anything over us, try and make us do anything we don't want to do, try to manipulate us or brainwash us-do _anything_ to Percy or his siblings, and you won't have to wonder where your gods are. I'm going to be right next to you. Am I clear?"

"C-Crystal."

Kaneki let his gaze linger a while longer, before he broke eye contact and vanished after his brood.

Vanessa's knees shook, and if she hadn't been in front of a bunch of expectant legionnaires, she would've gladly fallen down and thanked Olympus for her life. As it was, she managed a hasty "Get in," and told someone else to drive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The journey to the camp was short and spent with the telling of stories about their experiences on the cruise. They were all checked at the hidden roadway entrance, admitted passage, and where the legionnaires were dropped off at the barracks, where there was a welcoming committee, Vanessa made a beeline for the older teen in the purple toga.

Damian, son of Mercury, was over the moon to see his girlfriend alive, well, and back in one piece, but the look on her face told him that business, a lot of it, was about to come.

"Have they arrived?" she asked.

Damian blinked. "Has who arrived?"

"You'll see. Hopefully. Come with me. _Now_."

Vanessa dragged her boyfriend to the _via praetoria_ and made sure the doors were shut tightly.

"Uh...we're doing this _now_? I mean, sure, I'm all for-"

"Damian, we're in trouble."

The praetor sobered up. "How so?"

"Those monsters Lupa spoke of before the mission began? Those ones with the hard skin, and the super powers? Yeah, Percy Jackson is not only one of those monsters, but he's actually one of the most powerful, and that dark path he was on? Yeah, that was really just a massive misunderstanding that was cleared up. Anteiku was a coffee shop owned by Percy's family, who are also those monsters, and we managed to make something of a truce/alliance with them, but…"

"But?" Damian prompted.

"But those monsters are called Ghouls. They look exactly like humans, act and walk and talk exactly like humans, except they had an extra organ somewhere on their back. That organ functions like a weapon, and basically transforms into some kind of whip or a blade or a wing, or a tail." Vanessa shivered as the memories of Ghoul-on-Ghoul combat ran through her head.

"We succeeded in bringing Percy here, but the Ghouls at Anteiku didn't let him come with us without protection. Along with Percy came his big brother and sister, Kaneki Ken and Touka Kirishima, and stowing away is Percy's girlfriend, Eto. Something else happened, I can't explain well enough, but the short version is that Percy's mind split into three, and he can make bodies for his siblings. It's multiple personality disorder, and he considers the other two as his triplet siblings."

"So...y'all went to Tokyo to get Percy...and you brought back Percy, Kaneki, Touka, Eto, and Percy's two multiple personality siblings. Went for one, and brought back six. Uh, impressive? What are we supposed to do?"

The mechanical dogs, Aurum and Argentum suddenly perked up, growling at something in the shadows.

Then multiple sets of green and red lights flashed to life, and where Damian drew his gladius, Vanessa almost peed herself.

The Ghouls emerged, all with varying expressions. Kaneki and Touka were serious, Eto was smiling easily, Persia was beaming, Kraken's face was hidden, and Percy looked nervous.

"Uh, hi? I heard you wanted to see me?"

Damian blinked. "You must be Percy. I'm Damian, the praetor of Camp Jupiter alongside Vanessa. The gods wanted you to come here, and for us to induct you to the legion for...until you learned some stuff. Honestly, this whole situation feels really dumb to me."

"Well, I'm glad we're in agreement," Kraken said. "All of you please me and Damian alone for a few minutes. I need to have a private conversation real fast."

The son of Mercury gulped and narrowed his eyes. Percy grabbed his brother's shoulder. "No fighting and no killing. Kagune promise."

Percy and Kraken's kagune slipped out from under their shirts, and the tentacles wrapped around each other before unwinding. Everyone left, Percy grabbing Touka's arm, Persia falling into step beside Eto, and Kaneki standing in the middle of them all. Vanessa shared a look with Damian, and then she departed with the automatons following behind.

When the doors shut with a dull thud, leaving the Kraken and the praetor alone, the former said one thing:

"Defend yourself."

That was all the warning he got before that tentacle came zooming for him. Damian got speared through the face...and then he faded like a mirage. Kraken raised a brow, and looped his kagune in an arc at his backside to block the sword aimed at his neck. The golden blade almost cut all the way through the RC cell construct, but it got stuck as its momentum was stripped from it.

Another tentacle burst from Kraken's lower back, impaling Damian, but the demigod vanished like a mirage once more, taking his sword with him, and reappeared close by, ready to move again.

Kraken popped his knuckle by pulling his finger back with his thumb. "So you're fast enough to leave an afterimage when you move. Not bad, but your strength is lacking. You put everything you had into taking my head, but you couldn't do it."

"Fair points. Any reason for attacking me?"

"I wanted to see if you had any power to amount to shit."

"Do I?"

"Not when compared to me." The air turned cold.

"Look~...the reasons for Percy being here have been rendered null and void. Teaching him honor, and discipline and camaraderie won't do a thing. _Forcing_ him to do something he doesn't want to do will end in bloodshed. Honestly, Damian, I don't care for you. I don't care for your title, your status, your position, or the modicum of power that you have. The only reason I'm still here is because Percy wants to be here. He thinks of this as like a cute little summer trip. After a month at most and a week at the least, he'll want to leave, when that time comes, we'll leave...and if you try to stop us...we'll wipe you off the map."

It wasn't a threat, or even a promise. It was a statement of pure fact and truth, and it made Damian scared. For this person before him to so easily state, with full confidence, that he and his were going to destroy Camp Jupiter and New Rome with such ease was...terrifying. He could see why Vanessa had been so shaken when she returned to speak to him.

Kraken glided past Damian, and threw a word of warning over his shoulder.

"And one more thing: all of us have issues with taking orders and obeying people that are weaker than us, so make sure to tell your subordinates to choose their words carefully. I can't speak for everyone, but if one of your pissant centurions tries and forces me to do something I don't want to do, I'll tear their head off."

"Noted." The praetor managed to keep the shake out of his voice. "I take it we're done here?"

"Unless you have something else to relay to me."

"War games are tonight at six, and since we don't have time to sort you into a cohort and our augur is sick right now with pneumonia, you'll be given a tour of the camp and the city by...someone. Anyone in mind you want to show you around?"

"Jason, Hazel, and Frank. Or some combination therein."

"Okay. I'll send for them immediately."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The three came when called, and while salty about presumably being blown off after the first few days, they still put on smiles. As they were in earshot, they were greeted by the ever-exuberant Persia.

"Hey, guys! How've you been?"

Jason's smile was a little strained. "After you basically ditched us, we've been great."

Persia smiled sheepishly, "Right, sorry...some things came up." She pointed to the boys on either side of her.

"I'm Percy. I'm the one...you were supposed to bring here. Uh, hi."

The other introduction was shorter. "Kraken."

The three Romans stared blankly at the she-Ghoul. "They're my brothers," Persia offered. "Kraken's older, Percy is the baby."

"I am _not_ the baby."

Touka patted his head. "Sure you are." She looked at the Romans, and laid out the truth. "We had more important things to figure out than play with you three. Case in point, these three becoming a thing, and this one." Eto flashed a peace sign.

"Hi."

"Who are you?" Hazel asked.

"Their girlfriend."

Jason, Frank, and Hazel looked at the triplets for confirmation, because Eto was visibly much older than the triplets, and over a head taller than them. Percy nodded his head. "Yep, she's our girlfriend."

And Persia added something she should not have said aloud, "And we've had sex."

Cue three flushing faces, one cackling greenette, one twitching eye, an albino slapping his little sister upside the head, one scandalized littlest brother, and one shaking masked face. "There are things that shouldn't be said in public...that was one of them."

Persia just stuck her tongue out at her triplet older brother.

"O-On with the tour," stuttered the embarrassed son of Jupiter.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, a lanky boy with a teddy bear watched the entire exchange, frowning. He had a knife with him, and he used that knife to gut his plushie and spill the stuffing on the ground. The boy examined the stuffing, and what he read made him lose what little color he had in his face.

For the good of Rome, those Ghouls had to go...it was just a matter of how to get them gone.

There were several ways, the boy supposed. He could whip the masses into a frenzy with rumors, he could stage some events, he could invoke the old magics, he could beseech the gods, or he could just wait. He foresaw an event that would draw the Ghouls from Rome, but it was uncertain when that event would come, and when it did come, too much damage might have been done.

Irreparable damage.

However, in all the ways that could be used to expunge the foreigners from the city, the way of _force_ could not be used. The Ghouls were too powerful for the legion. The masked one and the woman with the green hair might've very well been able to lay waste to the city by themselves, never mind the added support that was provided by the other triplets, the younger woman, and the white-haired one.

Their sheer speed, the physical levels of strength, the durability of their skin, and the sheer combat experience they all had made them too much for even the most powerful of demigod.

Yes, in order to avoid any messy accidents, in order to keep the unsavory mortals from entering this place in search of the Ghouls, in order to keep massive hordes of monsters away due to all the added scents...the Ghouls had to go.

It was just a question of how.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The tour was the tour, and the cousins all bonded again. More or less, anyway. Persia took back to them like a fish to water, Percy was a little awkward, if only because of Jason's inborn jealousy making it difficult for the boys to get along, though Percy and Hazel hit it off right proper. Kraken was Kraken, and was more concerned with keeping Eto at arm's length from his younger siblings.

Percy and Persia might've loved the woman, they might've been fine with having sex with her, but Kraken was not. Eto was manipulative, cruel, and sadistic. She used Percy and Persia like toys, playing with their feelings and their bodies, and he wasn't standing for it. He didn't like Eto, and the only reason she wasn't being digested in his stomach was because she made Percy and Persia happy.

Six o'clock came on swift wings, and it was time for war games.

Just a standard take the flag match, with the First and Second attacking, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth defending. But first, there had to be some introductions.

"Legionnaires!" Damian's voice boomed over the assembled 200-ish demigods as he used his diaphragm to magnify his voice. "Tonight, we welcome back our brothers and sisters from their successful mission to Tokyo, Japan!" A round of cheering and shield-banging. "Tonight, we also welcome new friends and family to the legion. Please welcome the triplets of Neptune, Percy, Persia, and Kraken!" Less vigorous cheering and shield-banging, because there was confusion present. Last everyone checked, there was only supposed to be one child of Neptune. There was also a little bit of fear, because the trinity was complete. Jason, son of Jupiter. Hazel, daughter of Pluto. And now three children of Neptune. "And please welcome the triplets' adopted siblings, Kaneki Ken and Touka Kirishima, along with their significant other, Eto!" More less vigorous cheering and shield-banging.

"Now," Vanessa continued for her fellow praetor, "as our augur is too sick to read the auguries, and our junior augur is not cleared to read the auguries, they will not be sorted into any cohort tonight, and so they will be spectating tonight's events, so everyone exercise good sportsmanship and show them what it means to be Romans."

"HOO!"

There was a chorus of legionnaires thrusting their _pilum_ high and grunting in assent of their praetor's commands.

But Kraken's ice-cold voice cut through the atmosphere like a razorblade through veins. "No."

And suddenly, dread settled in Vanessa's stomach. "Um, excuse me?"

Kraken ignored her and stepped forward, taking center stage. "We will not be spectating tonight. Instead, we'll be engaging in a special event this evening. All of us," he pointed to his fellow Ghouls, "against all of _you_ ," he pointed at the legion.

There was silence for a little bit, before loud laughter broke out amongst _half_ the legion. The other half knew all too well what they were up against, and they were hoping that their praetors would put a stop to it, and soon.

"Are you-are you serious?" Damian stuttered.

"Yeah!" Percy chirped. "Watching's no fun."

"And it gets boring fast," Persia added.

Damian looked to the young adults for support, but Kaneki looked as serious as Kraken sounded, Touka just shrugged like "Kids, man. What you going to do?" And Eto looked excited at the prospect of battle. Vanessa looked green at the thought of the potential impending slaughter.

The laughter died down, and Kraken spoke back up, "All of you will be defending the flag, and all of us will trying to take it. That way you won't have to worry about cohorts and can instead worry about making an incorporative defensive strategy. I suggest speaking to your friends who went on vacation, and ask them for some guidance."

He turned away and began walking for the Field of Mars, ignoring the people who were now shouting and asking if this was seriously happening. For the praetors, they didn't have any true grounds for objection, and as the rest of the Ghouls began to follow the Kraken, Kaneki shared some words with the teen next to him.

"You'd better have one hell of a strategy, because we won't be holding back."

"N-Noted," Vanessa stuttered. With the Ghouls gone, she now had to deal with a half-outraged group of teenagers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Ghouls were suited up for battle. Eto was all bandaged, with her floppy-eared cloak. Percy and Persia, at the insistence of their big brother, were wearing monochrome outfits and spare masks. Touka was wearing her long jacket and white rabbit mask with the pink hair attached to it, and Kaneki was wearing his gimp mask...and a black outfit that Eto just... _had_ with her...for _reasons_.

Percy pumped his fist. "Let's kick some butt!"

Kaneki stood next to Kraken, and spoke in a low voice. "Why did you really want to do this?"

"I want to see if all three of us are kakujas, or just one of us."

"Seeing as you're all clones of the same body, logic would dictate that yes, you're all kakujas."

"Well, we're about to find out. OI! Percy, Persia, you two attack from the sides. Eto, you take the rear-"

Eto promptly grabbed Percy's butt. "Hey!"

"The rear has been taken."

The black holes of Kraken's mask seemed to get darker.

Eto let go. "Just joking."

"Anyway, I'll attack their front gates."

"And us?" Touka asked, referring to herself and Kaneki.

"I'm getting to that. Eto, Persia, and Percy...use your kakuja. We're going for a shock and awe display tonight, because it'll be less bullshit in the future. Now, since our extended family over there will be far more occupied with dealing with a quartet of monsters, that leaves an opening for a couple of stealth infiltrators with good fighting skills to get over the wall. No need to play nice with the other kids. If there aren't any objections, get in place, and give no quarter."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"They're kidding, right? Just six of them against all of us? Really?"

"Hey, man, we've got the Fifth working with us. If there's ever a possibility this many Romans are going to lose to a six-man team, it's at its highest tonight."

"Yeah, but I don't think even the Fifth has that much bad luck."

"You'd be surprised. Remember when the Fifth teamed up with First and the Second to defend, and they still lost?"

"Oh, yeah."

"You guys weren't in Tokyo. Those guys are gonna screw us up six ways to Sunday."

"How?"

"Look."

And that's when, out of the shadows of the distant fields, four monsters came stalking into the light. Three of them were the exact same. White, lanky, and forty feet tall with humongous bulbs covered in mouths on their backs, like they were carrying miniature planets. The fourth monster was hunched, with four extra limbs growing from its back, and a set of spines also growing from its back. With each step each monster took, the ground trembled and the scent of fear in the air grew stronger.

Up in the skies, the praetors paled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Los Angeles was very far away from San Francisco, not that Sally knew her son was there of all places. She firmly believed that Percy was all the way in Tokyo still, and she really had no reason to doubt that. In her mind, it was a question of how to get back to Japan. She immediately thought of flying, but she had reservations about that because Zeus may or may not be after her because she birthed the son of Poseidon. It sounded petty, but Zeus had proven he was petty. The next thing Sally thought of was hopping ship, but the seas were the domain of Amphitrite, and she may or may not be vindictive of her husband's infidelity, and if Sally did get on the water, it'd be a wager on whether Poseidon would protect her from Amphitrite's potential wrath, and if he did protect her from Amphitrite, it would cause great strife between the husband and wife of the seas, which would lead to untold amounts of devastation.

So, Sally looked at it this way: Get on a plane and potentially be killed by Zeus, or get on a boat and potentially be killed by Amphitrite.

She started weighing her chances of survival in either circumstance, when a cold north wind brushed past her, and upon its whistle were two words:

 _Go north._

And so Sally went north.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **So ends another chapter. Kraken's made it clear that he doesn't want to be here, there's nothing keeping him here, and when he wants to leave, he'll leave, and he'll kill everyone that gets in and his siblings' way. Sally's heading upstate, and there's a teddy bear-mutilating skinny boy in the shadows plotting to get the Ghouls out before something happens.**_

 _ **The Romans are facing two stealth infiltrators and four kakujas. Yes, the triplets are all kakujas. Kaneki's logic is canon. Yes, kakuja is an adjective and can be used in the plural. Even if it can't, I don't care.**_

 _ **Next chapter is Ghoul-on-Roman war games, followed by Ghoul-on-Roman single combat.**_

 _ **Fav, Follow, and Review!**_


	28. Ghouls and Romans: Pt 2

_Ghouls and Romans Pt. 2_

 _ **We're back! The war games conclude, and the Ghouls fight in the colosseum to be sorted into cohorts today!**_

 _ **Yay, fighting!**_

 _ **Anyway, on with the story.**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The only sounds across the Field of Mars were the booming footsteps of the four kakuja. The ones with the bulbs on their backs were much taller than the one with all the spines, but the one with the spines was wider. The Romans all stared, the Second through the Fifth on the Field, the First within the ramparts, and the praetors hovering in the sky.

In the city of New Rome, the denizens all paused their evening activities when the ground began to shake, multiple small tremors making enough of a havoc to command all attention, but not cause any kind of damage.

Back on the Field of Mars, the Roman inactivity continued for another six seconds before the synapses in Jason's head started firing, and he began to dole out orders like any son of Jupiter worth his salt.

"Second Cohort to the rear! Third Cohort to the right flank! Fourth Cohort to the left flank! Fifth Cohort with me! All attack in wedge formation! First Cohort, load ballistae and provide long-range support! Move, move!"

Properly galvanized, the legion moved as directed, the centurions taking further command from there.

Honestly, Jason didn't have a shred of faith in his plan. He didn't know about the monster coming up the back, but he knew about the lanky ones with the things on their backs. He had seen what one of them had been able to do, seen what Kraken was capable of all by himself, and now he had to deal with not just Kraken, but Percy and Persia as well. Luckily, it seemed those two cousins were far more mellow and lacked the same killer instinct that Kraken had.

Still, just because Percy and Persia were seemingly more peaceful, did not mean that they couldn't play rough.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaneki and Touka were leaning against the shadowed wall of the Roman fort. One of the cohorts was in formation, charging against the kakuja that was Persia. The demigods had been so preoccupied with what was bearing down on them that they didn't even notice the two Ghouls lounging in the shadows.

"Should we end this before it gets bloody?" Touka asked. "There all so focused on what they're doing they wouldn't even notice we're in there and back out until it was too late."

"We could," Kaneki surmised, "but I doubt Kraken would be overly pleased with us for ending his shock and awe campaign before it could really start. Give sixty more seconds, and we'll get the flag."

"Sixty seconds?"

"Mm-hm. Start counting...now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Percy and Persia weren't really in the mood for a beat-down, and they didn't really want to hurt anyone either. It wasn't that they were suddenly pacifists in the wake of Kraken becoming a separate entity, it was that they didn't see any benefit in cutting up Romans. It was like high schoolers going out of their way to beat up kindergartners.

It was dumb.

Kraken disagreed. This battle was about sending a message. It was about a display of force, a showing of power, a demonstration that he and his siblings were not to be trifled with, underestimated, or walked over. It was about establishing their role in the food chain, their status in the pecking order, their height on the totem pole.

Eto was here to have fun.

Jason was hoping no one got eaten alive, and that pants would remain unsoiled for the duration of this attack. He also hoped this attack would be some semblance of successful. His hopes were admittedly not high.

The ballistae shots shattered harmlessly against every kakuja. When the wedges got within range of the demigod kakujas, the mouths on the monstrosities opened and the tentacle/tongues emerged. Those that had been to Tokyo and saw what happened the last time this event occurred, all came to a grinding halt in their tracks, and ended up tripping the entire formation.

Within their kakujas, Kraken stared, Percy laughed, and Persia giggled. The Romans groaned and yelled at each other as they tried to untangle themselves from the pile of armor and pointy things. Up in the sky, the praetors were palming their faces, and on the ground, Jason was practically mortified. At the rear, Eto let out that gurgling scream that she made when surrounded by her kakuja as she leapt up and belly-flopped on solid ground.

The Romans had enough sense to dodge out of the way, but the impact tremor sent them all sprawling in a cloud of dust the size of the fort.

Meanwhile, on the ramparts, two Romans of the First Cohort were completely unaware of the two figures that darted over the edge, and the Romans that were guarding the flag within the fort's keep, playing a game of Yugioh, jumped out of their skins when the doors were removed from their hinges. None of them were entirely sure what happened, there was a blur of blacks, a thin streak of red light, a shock of pink, and then it was over.

As the Romans let their hearts settle, they noticed their flag was gone.

Back on the Field, the Cohorts managed to rally, but were heavily outclassed and outmatched, and there wasn't really much they could do against opponents between the heights of fifteen and twenty feet besides jam their spears up and try to slash at the legs, of which both endeavors were met with zero success. Left and right, Romans were gathered in the coils of the kakuja and tossed about like toys, and Eto entertained herself by jumping around and swinging her arms in wide arcs, knocking scores of Romans down, though none of them were seriously injured because of their physiology, and armor had to count for something.

The kakujas continued to advance of the fort, with eagles periodically swooping down to pick up those that were too hurt to continue. This would've continued to play out until the fort was taken apart, but Damian happened to see something out of the corner of his eye on a distant hill. The other two Ghouls casually lounging on the flag, using it as a picnic blanket.

He immediately called the game.

"ROMANS!" his voice boomed over the whole Field. "THE GAME GOES IN FAVOR OF THE GHOULS! ASSEMBLE FOR HONORS!"

Eto huffed at her fun being ended.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What was left of the cohorts was gathered in formation, and the Ghouls stood next to each other, masks on, kakujas disposed of for the time being. The praetors stood in front, with some badges.

"The Mural Crown goes to the one over the walls first," Vanessa announced. "Touka Kirishima, please come forward."

None of the Ghouls moved.

Vanessa blinked, and tried something else. "Would Rabbit please come forward."

The Ghoul in the rabbit mask stepped forward, the two little ones cheering before they were slapped upside their heads, making them quiet down.

Vanessa fastened the Mural Crown to the front of Rabbit's jacket. "Your bravery is commended. _Ave, Lepus_!"

The Romans raised their _pilum_. " _Ave, Lepus_!"

Damian clapped his hands. "So, after that fiasco, we are all now very much acquainted with the fact our Japanese friends have extraordinary powers, and are not afraid to use them, and that they can take on the entire legion and receive...next to no damage. Anyway, the Ghouls win tonight's war games, and thus concludes this evening's activities...in record time. Curfew is at nine, and all activities tomorrow are cancelled, due to the placement tournament. Since it's a full two-and-a-half hours until curfew, everyone find something engaging to do. Goodnight."

Damian and Vanessa mounted their pegasi and flapped away, bailing out of the awkward situation that was sure to ensue.

With the praetors gone, that left a lot of Romans with wounds and wounded pride in the presence of a bunch of apex predators that were a mix of emotions. One of them wanted to take two of them somewhere private and get something fun going on, another wanted to just leave and go back to Tokyo, the white-haired one didn't really have any stake in any of this, and the one with the Mural Crown was mentally daring anyone to try something against her little brothers and sister.

The Romans all just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with themselves.

Kraken walked away first, then vanished in a blur of motion. Kaneki followed, then Percy, then Persia, and Touka made sure to leave right after those two before Eto could start trying to fill her eyes with the sight of the triplets' asses.

After that, one by one until they were going in droves, the Romans headed for the baths to get out of their armor, take off their sweaty clothes, and dig their underwear out of their butts.

Never before had Jason experienced a wedgie of this extreme caliber, and it made him wonder how girls could manage wearing a thong for hours on end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaneki and Kraken stood alone on top of the aqueduct, looking over what they could.

"Do you feel like you accomplished what you wanted to accomplish?" Kaneki asked.

"Yes, though I was highly disappointed at the Romans' display of military discipline. As soon as the tentacles came out, half of them fell down, making the rest of them fall down."

"Fear has a powerful impact on the mind of intelligent creatures. I remember seeing your kakuja for the first time. It is still the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life."

"Even so, you'd think that these Romans, these children of the gods, would have bigger stones than what was shown tonight."

"Perhaps, but don't forget that they're also children of humans, and they have human instincts as well."

Silence fell between the brothers, silence that was broken by Kraken.

"Do you think we can eat them? The demigods, I mean. Do you think we can eat them?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We Ghouls can't just eat anyone. They need to have a certain level of RC cells in them to be digestible. That's why we can't eat human food, not enough RC cells. That's also why Ghouls aren't permitted to leave Japan, because not everyone on the planet has enough RC cells in them to be edible. The nuclear radiation from the bombs didn't spread far enough to mutate enough people. However, you might be able to eat demigods, if only because the godly sides of you and your prey get along well enough inside your stomach."

"So, we'll to conduct an experiment, then."

"Yes, though I don't think the government here would be too okay with the idea of us eating one of their own."

"Agreed."

"Kraken?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you have ever eaten Hide and me?"

That threw the younger Ghoul for a loop. The immediate answer was no, as Kaneki and Hide were his best friends, his best human friends, but at the same time, if he had ever been hungry enough, he may just have done that. After all, from since when he was a small child, he had been taught that humans were food, and that he shouldn't be concerned over their wellbeing. They were sustenance, nutrients, carbs, proteins, lipids. They were the fuel that he needed to survive, and a hunting tactic that Yomo had taught him was to befriend a human and lead them to a secluded place to kill and eat them.

That was a tactic that Percy had entertained before, back when Kaneki and Hide were just faces in Anteiku, but like with everything, things changed. They became regulars, they became friends, and Percy couldn't ever think of eating them after they became friends.

"Once, yes," Kraken answered. "You two were nothing but faces back then, just some humans that showed up every once in a while, but you started showing up more frequently, I remembered your names, what you always wanted...so, not anymore."

Kaneki hummed, sounding neither angered, nor insulted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day was met with the roar of a crowd.

"WELCOME ALL!" Damian's voice boomed from the praetor's box as he stood. An event such as this wasn't exclusive to the legion, all in New Rome could attend. It really painted a picture about Roman society when small children were allowed to attend events that would most likely involve gruesome death.

Ah well. Gotta learn 'em young.

"Today's activity involves the sorting of our new arrivals into the cohorts of the legion. For those confused, in the absence of an augur, trial by combat is a must for entrance into the legion. Now, without further ado, would Rabbit, Eyepatch, Eto, Persia, and Kraken please enter the waiting area."

The aforementioned Ghouls did as instruct, leaving Percy alone in the colosseum.

"The rules are simple," Damian continued. "Success comes only from victory; any form of failure will end in death. Beyond that, anything goes."

With that, the colosseum floor rumbled and began to change, massive blocks of the ground rising and vanishing as the Romans underneath turned the wheels and worked the levers. After they were done, the colosseum floor had been rearranged into an uneven, hill-like place, and a massive cage had been raised from underground.

Inside the cage was a massive creature, hairy, two heads, bat-like wings, a tail that was vaguely like a snake, and was big as the average truck.

Percy recognized it as a chimera, only a lot bigger than what he remembered from the myths. The left head was spitting some kind of white liquid, and the right head was lighting it aflame. Percy likened it to a cigarette lighter.

The chimera set both of its eyes on him and busted out the cage like it was a tin can. It charged with a roar and a spew of fire. Percy tilted his head and sped forward faster than eyes could tract, and the chimera howled when a wing was ripped off. Its snake tail lashed at Percy, who whirled around and angled his body to where the tail missed him, and then he promptly bit the tail off, making the monster howl yet again.

Percy spat out the bit of tail in his mouth, and then leapt fifty feet in the air. He came down on the chimera's spine, making it crumple under the force of his descent. The monster let out a final yowl, and then dissolved into dust.

"Anticlimactic," Damian muttered so quiet only Vanessa heard him. He stood and addressed the crowd. "Percy is the winner! As per the ancient rites, he is now a soldier of Rome. _Ave,_ Percy Jackson!"

There was a chorus of about two thousand voices saying the same thing, but it was rather indistinct and came off as some kind of demonic chant.

"Also per the ancient rites, you, Percy, now have the full freedom to choose which cohort you would like to be a part of. Your decision?"

Percy held up a hand, five fingers splayed.

"Fifth cohort it is. Legionnaires, welcome your new member!"

The Romans of the Fifth, past and present, meaning retired soldiers, _lares_ , and the current members, all cheered and screamed their heads off. Rumors had already spread like wildfire about the Ghouls' abilities and power, so for the Fifth to receive one of the Ghouls was kinda like getting their Eagle back.

"Eto, please take the field!"

The One-Eyed Owl did as Damian instructed, and the engineers did their thing below the floor, reworking the colosseum grounds into a grassy plane, complete with cage. Inside the cage was something that made Eto tilt her head, though that didn't stop her from raising her hand, and crushing the cage and the creature within between her fingers.

"Same rules and stipulations apply," Damian said.

And then the full-grown tyrannosaurus rex busted out of the cage and ran right at Eto with a roar, the ground thumping beneath its humongous legs. Eto had always wondered why dinosaurs were so feared. All you had to do was avoid the mouth and not get stepped on.

The t-rex came bearing down on Eto, mouth wide, and all the Ghoul did was jump. Midair, she twisted and lashed out with her kagune, slicing the dinosaur deep across the back of its massive neck. A generous amount of blood gushed from the wound, and t-rex went down, spine severed from the rest of its body. Eto delivered the coup de grâce, forming a massive hand out of her kagune, bringing it down with such great force that she crushed the dinosaur's head into paste.

Before any of this happened, Damian leaned over to Vanessa. "Where did we get a dinosaur?"

"We grew it."

"Oh. Silly me." Then he saw the end of the fight and paled. "We're screwed if they turn on us for any reason."

Vanessa rapidly nodded her head.

Damian stood. "The cohort of your choice?"

Eto raised a hand with all the fingers splayed.

"Of course," the son of Mercury muttered. "Legionnaires, welcome your new member!"

More roaring and cheering, and people unbelieving of their luck.

The dinosaur was kinda just left there, and Damian called out the next Ghoul.

"Kaneki Ken, please enter the colosseum." Kaneki entered, and Damian had a thought. "Will you be joining the Fifth Cohort?"

Kaneki nodded.

"Will the rest of you be joining the Fifth Cohort?"

Kaneki looked down at the waiting area, received a series of nods, then looked back up at Damian and nodded. There was an immediate outcry from the stands, people cheering at all the Ghouls going to the Fifth, and people screaming at all the Ghouls going to the Fifth. Damian and Vanessa couldn't actually make out any distinct remarks, as the noise was too much, but they could figure what was being said.

The son of Mercury grumbled, his eye twitching, and Vanessa took the spotlight, smiling in a very charming way. Then her face morphed into one of abject rage.

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Her Charmspeak was on full blast, and it had the instant effect of shutting everyone up.

"Thank you. Now, if there are any that are dissatisfied with the Ghouls' decision to join the Fifth, you are more than welcome to take this matter up with them."

Percy waved exuberantly from his spot in the stands, and Kaneki popped one of his fingers, by pulling it back with his thumb. The crowd stayed quiet this time.

Down below, the engineers took the silence as their cue to get things rolling. Pulleys began to squeal and levers were pulled and wheels were grinded. Kaneki watched impassively as the grassy plane was replaced with the swamp land. There was a cage, and in it was a silverback gorilla the size of a cyclops.

The gorilla's eyes were bloodshot, foam spilling from its mouth, its teeth like barbed wire.

"Where'd we get this thing?" David muttered to Vanessa.

"Some legionnaires found it wondering through the hills about two weeks ago. I put it in a report."

"What report?"

"That report that we read together that one night...oh." Now Vanessa remembered.

It took Damian a little bit, but he remembered too. "Right. That night. That report."

Back in the colosseum, Kaneki popped another knuckle and the gorilla burst out of the cage. With a roar, it charged, strafed to the side, throwing Kaneki for a small loop, and strafed again and again until it was within striking distance of Kaneki. The gorilla brought its arms over its head for a devastating blow.

Kaneki's eye bled red and black, and he stopped the gorilla's arms dead. The beast was stunned by that, and Kaneki squeezed with everything that he had, crushing the bones in the gorilla's wrists. He let go and the beast howl and writhe. Kaneki popped another knuckle, and red mist began to flow from his lower back, red mist that solidified into a single, jagged tentacle.

In a flicker of red motion, the gorilla lost its head.

There was silence for a little bit as people tried to comprehend that fact, that what basically amounted to a red tail had just cut off a gorilla's head, a red tail that coming from Kaneki's butt. Then someone just had to say it.

"Harambe!"

Then someone else had to say the other thing.

"Dicks out for Harambe!"

Someone punched that guy in the dick, and he went down with a wheeze.

Damian stood. "A funeral will be held never in honor of Harambe. May he live on in our memes. Touka Kirishima, you're up."

Vanessa said something.

"Oh, right. Legionnaires, welcome your new member!"

The Fifth went nuts as Kaneki joined their ranks. Touka took the colosseum, wrinkling her nose at the corpses of the dinosaur and the gorilla. The engineers did their thing, and the colosseum floor changed to that of the Texas desert, with shrubs, cacti, and the odd tumbleweed.

There wasn't a cage this time, only a mutant hawk the size of a car. There was a collar around its foot, and a chain that lead somewhere under the ground. Said chain was certainly long enough to allow the hawk an altitude of three hundred feet. High enough for combat, but not escape.

Touka rolled her eyes at this event. It was going to be easy.

The hawk screeched and took to the air, giving Touka the opening she anticipated. She vanished and the chain was cut. She appeared and grabbed the chain, her kakugan blazing, sending the activation signal to her RC cells to activate, giving her body that extraordinary strength Ghouls were known for, and she yanked _down_.

The hawk was ripped from the air with a squawk, and slammed down hard into the ground. Touka's kagune popped out from her back, hardened, and released a shock of crystals, buckshotting the hawk. Death was instant.

Touka spread her arms like "Was that it? Are you serious?" Damian was inclined to agree.

"Legionnaires! Welcome your new member!"

While everyone was cheering, Damian leaned over to Vanessa. "Giant hawk?"

"One of our eagles got stolen and was corrupted with dark magic."

"Oh. Persia Jackson, you're up!"

She took the floor, Percy cheering for her from where he was sitting in Eto's lap. Persia waved happily at him. The colosseum changed yet again, somehow going from the Texas desert to the Arctic tundra. Persia tilted her head at all the frozen water around her, wondering how her fight was going to be a challenge.

Damian blinked at the creature in the cage. "Is that a yeti?"

"Yes," Vanessa answered.

The white-furred monster ripped itself free of its cage, and immediately leapt into the air, fully intent on coming down and crushing Persia. She just stared at the monster, and twitched her wrist. The snow erupted, forming into a hand, and grabbed the yeti in midair. Then Persia squeezed, making the monster pop like a grape. Quick, brutal, efficient, and painless.

Persia shrugged at the stunned onlookers. "Daughter of Neptune with water power surrounded by frozen water. Not that hard."

She joined her family with the Fifth Cohort, people cheering.

Damian called the last name on the list. "Kraken!"

The black-clad Ghoul stalked into the light, face hidden behind his mask.

The colosseum rumbled, returning to its original dirt-covered floor. Instead of a cage, at the opposite end of the arena, was an open door. Inside there was nothing but shadow, and a pair of big, red eyes. The owner of those eyes stalked forward into the light, revealing it to be a black-furred wolf the size of a horse.

The mouth was parted slightly, revealing very big teeth. Its claws gleamed in the light of the sun. The fur on its body was clean, well-kept, but not in a natural way. The fur on its back bulged upward, almost like a mane, or an unseen hump.

"A lycanthrope?" Damian gasped. "Where did we get that monster?"

Vanessa was pale. "I don't...I don't know."

The lycanthrope made a sound like a roar, and it was in front of Kraken too fast for the Ghoul to react in a way that would have ended in a quick, lethal blow. The monster's claw jammed Kraken in the chest knocking him back, splitting through his hoodie and bruising his skin.

That, in and of itself, was quite the feat.

Kraken looked at the lycanthrope, and he popped one of his knuckles by pulling it back with his thumb. Green and black mist leaked from his lower back, and all thirteen tentacles burst out with a crackle, and all of them were angled forward, their points glaring at the lycanthrope.

The monster roared, and zigzagged backwards, becoming a speeding black streak. The lycanthrope reached the back wall, crouched, and pushed forward with enough force to splinter the ground. It rushed forward, right into Kraken's kagune, and just before it was within reached, its paws tapped the ground, and it strafed far to the right, sailing fifty feet away in the blink of an eye.

The tentacles rushed after it, spearing the ground where the lycanthrope was, digging deep gashes into the earth. The beast vanished before it could be hit, reappearing somewhere else, and had to dash away as more tentacles came bearing down on it.

The game continued until all of the tentacles had been splayed out, and the lycanthrope sped in towards Kraken, intent on killing the Ghoul. When it got close, thinking victory was within reach, Kraken spun hard, and a series of tentacles came whipping by, smacking the lycanthrope into the colosseum wall. The impact resulted in a dust cloud and a tremor that shook the colosseum.

From within the confines of his mask, Kraken's eyes narrowed. _'That should have killed it.'_

The lycanthrope emerged, a slight limp in its step, but not overly hindered.

' _Alright then. Capitalize on the weakness!'_

Kraken blurred forward, playing on the lycanthrope's limp, and the beast wasn't fast enough to dodge, so it reared back on its hind legs, its foreclaws glowing with energy. The monster went down, arcs of deadly light blasting forward, carving through the ground. Kraken weaved easily, but it took time dodge, and the lycanthrope used that miniscule window to dash away...but it didn't get far.

Tentacles wrapped around its hind legs, and the force with which the beast went forward, and the force that pulled backward, did not get along well with the leg joints. The lycanthrope howled when its limbs were ripped off, and it went skidding across the ground. Kraken bounded after it, leapt, and came down hard enough to kick up a cloud of dust high enough to eclipse the colosseum's highest wall, and splinter the arena floor, shattering the supports underneath, causing the whole arena ground to collapse.

The devastation was so great, that people ran screaming for the exits, and the engineers went running for the emergency escapes, and the praetors immediately vacated the premises.

The colosseum itself didn't suddenly collapse, but its floor definitely went bye-bye.

When the shaking stopped, and everyone was outside, there were two questions on everyone's mind: _Had anyone been hurt, or worse,_ and _Was Kraken really that powerful, or did something go wrong_.

The Roman engineers were too rattled to answer, though there was going to be an investigation, of that everyone was sure.

The Ghouls were eyeing the dust cloud leaking from the colosseum's entrances, looking for Kraken. Soon enough, many other were watching, and then everyone was keeping a sharp eye for Kraken, and anyone else that may come stumbling out of the dust.

And then a pair of red eyes glowed in the cloud, and the lycanthrope came stalking into the sun, its legs regrown, saliva dripping from its maw.

A few hearts stopped, and many nonexistent weapons were reached for. The muscle memory of years in the legion driving the veterans to reach for swords, muscle memory driving current legionnaires to do the same. However, within the Pomerian Line, Terminus permitted no weapons of any kind, though the god debated the Ghouls' kakuhou, but it was reasoned that they were organs, like muscles, and since muscles could be used as weapons, and Terminus didn't strip everyone of their muscles, he couldn't take the kakuhou out.

As it was a technicality, and Terminus loved technicalities, he let it slide.

Anyway, approaching lycanthrope and weaponless Romans, but there were five Ghouls that were very much alive and capable of battle. The lycanthrope regarded those five beings, remembered its fight against the other one, and attempted to flee to fight another day.

Eyepatch appeared in its path, and it strafed away, and then Rabbit was there. Strafe. Eto. Strafe. Persia. Strafe. Percy. The lycanthrope growled, trapped in a circle.

"Where's my brother?" Percy asked in a hard voice.

The lycanthrope just snarled, hackles raised.

Then a swarm of black and green tentacles burst out of the dust, wrapping around the black-furred animal, and yanked it into the dust cloud. Sounds of crunching bones and splitting organs and the cries of an animal echoed from the cloud, but those sounds soon faded.

Kraken emerged, looking no worse for wear.

"I choose the Fifth Cohort," he said.

It took Damian a moment, but he regained his bearings. "Legionnaires! Welcome your new member!"

Despite the chaos of what just happened, there was ecstatic cheering.

"Oh, and someone sabotaged the supports underneath. They caved far too easily for how much force I put into that last attack."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Another chapter ends. Who could have sabotaged the colosseum? How was it not noticed by anyone working down there? What were the motives? The means? What's in store for the Ghouls as they reside in New Rome for the foreseeable future?**_

 _ **I personally don't know that myself. Haven't planned that far yet.**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the Caldecott Tunnel entrance to the Camp, two Romans were on duty, bummed out at missing the fights in the colosseum. Despite activities being cancelled for the day, guard duty was a necessity, and Bob and Mary, son of Mars and daughter of Ceres respectively, were selected for the job.

Other than watching a car cut lanes without a turn signal and cause a pile up of wrecked cars behind it due to slamming breaks, the only other highlight of Bob and Mary's day was when a little Puerto Rican girl came hiking up to the tunnel, dirty, smelly, and bearing arms and letters.

"Who are you?" Bob asked as Mary examined the papers.

"I'm Reyna," the girl answered. "Daughter of Bellona. Also, can you hurry this along? I need to poop."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Yes, I just brought in Reyna, and yes, she just announced she needs to poop. Just like Persephone does. It's a reference. Laugh.**_


End file.
